OSU star stands out on mediocre squad

By BRAD YOUNG
Collegian Sports Writer

Her 28 points were not enough on that April day in Atlanta. Just like the 1,151 she has scored since then haven't been, either.

A freshman phenom at the time, Ohio State's Katie Smith racked up 28 points in the 1993 NCAA women's basketball tournament finals -- the second-highest point total ever in the championship game. But Smith was outdone by Texas Tech star Sheryl Swoopes' record 47 points as the Lady Raiders won, 84-82.

"It's not something like, if I don't get back (to the finals) there will be nothing but years of failure," Smith said.

Individually for Smith, the two seasons since that spring night in the Omni have not been years of failure. In the last 52 Buckeye contests, Smith has averaged 22.1 points per game. But many of those points have been wasted, scored in 24 Ohio State losses.

As the junior closes in on 2,000 career points -- she now stands at 1,729 -- the Buckeyes have not been able to close in on another shot at the title. While Smith has become a star, the Buckeyes have become mediocre.

With just two games remaining in the regular season, Ohio State hinges on the edge of a second straight year devoid of an NCAA tournament berth. They are 14-10, 7-7 in the conference. The Buckeyes will probably be watching March Madness on the tube if they can't conjure up weekend wins against the Big Ten's top two teams.

Having lost four of their last five games, the Buckeyes host No. 13 Purdue on Friday and travel to No. 8 Penn State on Sunday.

"We haven't played well the last couple of weekends," Ohio State Coach Nancy Darsch said. "We've really put ourselves in a hole."

If not for Smith, the Buckeye straits would be even more dire. This season, the 5-foot-11 small forward ranks in the top 10 in six Big Ten statistical categories. She leads the conference with 22.2 points per game and is the league's only player averaging better than 20 a game.

But unless the Buckeyes can emerge from the weekend unscathed or win the conference tournament, March 3-6, Smith's player-of-the-year caliber season may be all for naught. Failing to qualify for postseason play is not something Smith considered when the Buckeyes beat Purdue and Penn State in their first two conference games.

"I didn't think our record would be .500 right now in the Big Ten," Smith said. "It's just something I didn't think would happen after we started out well."

Starting out well is something Smith knows a lot about. As a freshman, she came to Ohio State after a high school career during which she was named all-state in track, volleyball and basketball. Her success continued with the Buckeyes, as she became the first rookie since Hall-of-Famer Cheryl Miller to earn All-American honors.

It was part of a season where Smith led the Buckeyes as they became the only Big Ten team ever to play in the NCAA finals. It was a season Ohio State has struggled to repeat, finishing 14-14 and seventh in the conference last year.

But having experienced what she did a year ago, Smith has better handled Ohio State's disappointments this season.

"I think she was frustrated last year," Darsch said. "This year she has really handled things differently and much better."

Ohio State's Big Ten opponenets are too concerened with handling Smith to worry about how she's handling herself. Her blend of quickness, power and her outside game has perplexed conference coaches for three years now.

So how do teams try to slow her down?

"Play defense on her before she gets the ball," Wisconsin Coach Jane Albright-Dieterle said. "Once she gets the ball, there's really no such thing as defending her."

But Smith's talents as a player go beyond her ability to shoot the three and drive to the hole. One look at her stride reveals a confident gait indicative of Smith's strong belief in herself.

"(Self-confidence) is something I think that all good players have," Smith said. "Some are cocky, but most just know what they can do and go out and do it."

The fact that many opposing fans heckle her shows they probably believe Smith is in the former group. She hears it everywhere she goes.

"It doesn't really pump me up or bring me down," she said. "To me, it's a form of respect. If they really didn't care what you did, they wouldn't say anything."