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Countdown to 2016 WNBA Draft: No. 16 Seton Hall’s Tabatha Richardson-Smith

Out of the Big East, Seton Hall senior Tabatha Richardson-Smith’s skill arsenal helps her stand out as a talented potential draft pick from a school outside of the Power 5.

Richardson-Smith currently leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.2 points per game for a total of 364 all season. Additionally, she’s notched 26 assists, seven blocks and 29 steals in 19 games for the 15-4 Seton Hall Pirates this season.

The 6-foot tall forward has captured attention by capturing Big East Player of the Week honors in two of the past three weeks. Her most recent honor comes for the week of Jan. 18 after averaging 24.5 points and 10 rebounds in Seton Hall’s games against Villanova and Georgetown.

In addition to her most recent Player of the Week nod, she was also player of the week for Jan. 5. She’s also nabbed three Big East weekly Honor Roll nods as well this season.

Last season, Richardson-Smith played and started all 33 games for Pirates with an average of 17.8 points per game, which was the third-best across the conference. She tallied a total of 587 points per game last season alongside 79 steals. For her efforts, she was named to the All-Big East Second Team for the second straight season.

During her junior year, she broke her own Seton Hall single-season record of three-pointers with 94. She now leads the program in all-time three pointers with 244. Overall, Richardson-Smith has six career games where she’s had 30-point games.

Richardson-Smith’s talent translates to skillful shots on the court to help propel her team. Most recently, Richardson-Smith and the rest of the Seton Hall ballers hosted Xavier on Jan. 22 in a conference matchup.

Despite starting the game with a 10-point deficit, Richardson-Smith and Seton Hall knocked off Xavier 82-66.

Richardson-Smith posted 27 points alongside seven rebounds and five assists. Her numbers over Xavier were good enough to launch her past Ozelina Gorham into the third spot on Seton Hall’s all-time scoring list with a total of 1,685 career points.

This season in Big East games, Richardson-Smith has scored over 20 points in six of the eight games, including four games where she’s gone for more than 25 points.

When it comes time for the draft, Richardson-Smith could potentially lead a number of teams because of her many talents at forward. Because the majority of players that are set to go in the first round come from well-known conferences, look for Richardson-Smith to go later in the second round.

Stats through games played on Jan. 23. 

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