STANFORD, Calif. – Incoming freshman forward Alanna Smith led Australia to a third-place finish and was named to the All-Star Five at the FIBA U19 Women’s World Championship in Chekhov, Russia on Sunday.
Smith paced Australia’s Under-19 Gems squad in points, rebounds, blocks and steals while playing 22.3 minutes per game. She tied for 12th in the entire tournament in points per game (12.6), tied for 15th in rebounds (7.0), tied for third in blocks (2.7) and tied for 23rd in steals (1.3). She made 33-of-76 attempts from the floor in seven games and finished 22nd at the event in field goal percentage (.434).
The 6-foot-3 Smith had her best performance in Russia on Sunday, scoring 20 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in Australia’s 69-62 win over Spain to secure bronze. She made 8-of-16 from the floor, was a perfect 4-of-4 at the line and also added five blocks.
Australia opened up the tournament with three convincing wins over Serbia (105-62), Brazil (62-48) and South Korea (87-38) to top Group D. Smith started the week with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and four blocks in the win over Serbia and backed that up with 12 points, six rebounds, four steals and three blocks against Brazil. She scored seven and added three boards in Tuesday’s blowout of South Korea.
Smith scored 16 on 6-of-7 shooting to go along with nine rebounds in her country’s 91-23 win against Mali in the Round of 16 and contributed 14 points and six boards in an 83-46 quarterfinal victory over China. Australia’s only defeat came at the hands of Russia in Saturday’s semifinals, 76-57, in which Smith was limited to a point and three rebounds before her double-double Sunday.
Proud of frosh Alanna Smith making the #FIBAU19 All-Star team! Can't wait until she is on the Farm! #aussienerd https://t.co/G7KAbSJWyW
— Kate Paye (@KatePaye) July 26, 2015
Smith is the second Cardinal to medal in international competition this summer. On July 13, rising junior Erica McCall led the United States to gold at the 2015 World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea, averaging 15.2 points on 59.7 percent shooting and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Australia qualified for the FIBA U19 Women’s World Championship following its title at the 2014 FIBA Oceania U18 Championship for Women in Suva, Fiji. The Australians finished third at the 2013 edition of the biennial event held in Lithuania.
Smith led all competitors in scoring at the aforementioned FIBA Oceania U18 Championship for Women, averaging 21.0 points on 65.2 percent shooting to go along with 7.2 rebounds. In the 98-65 title game victory over New Zealand on December 6, she scored 21 points on 10-of-19 shooting and nabbed four steals.
She represented her country at the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women in Amsterdam, averaging 5.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Australia’s fifth-place tournament finish included a 15-point, seven-rebound, nine-block performance for Smith against Japan on August 22. Her FIBA career started at the 2011 FIBA Oceanic U16 Championship for Women in Canberra, Australia.
In February, Smith continued her strong play at the 2015 U20 Australian Junior Championships, propelling her Victoria team to an undefeated record and a dominant 75-41 win over Western Australia in the grand final. She posted averages of 19.8 points and 9.1 rebounds on 50 percent shooting en route to MVP honors and began the tournament with a 30-point, 10-rebound double-double against New South Wales on February 22.
Stanford, coming off its eighth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance, finished its 2014 season 26-10 overall and claimed the program’s 11th Pac-12 Tournament title in 14 years.