STANFORD, Calif. – Alanna Smith has been added to the Australian Opal's roster for the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup in Bangalore, India.
Injuries to a pair of players that will require surgery opened up roster spots which will allow Stanford's 6-foot-3 forward to make her debut for the Opals, Australia's senior national team. Twenty-one players were invited to a selection camp for the Opals in Phoenix late last month and Smith was one of only two collegians.
The rising junior was also named to the 12-person roster for the Australian Emerging Opals squad that will represent their country at the World University Games in Chinese Taipei in late August.
The FIBA Asia Cup, Smith's first tournament with the senior team, will be her fourth all-time for her country. She led Australia to a third-place finish and was named to the All-Star Five at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Chekhov, Russia in July 2015.
Smith paced Australia's Under-19 Gems squad in points, rebounds, blocks and steals while playing 22.3 minutes per game. Smith 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 led all competitors in scoring at the 2014 FIBA Oceania U18 Championship, averaging 21.0 points on 65.2 percent shooting to go along with 7.2 rebounds and represented Australia at the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship in Amsterdam, averaging 5.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Smith was one of Stanford's most productive players down the stretch of her sophomore season, averaging 14.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in the Cardinal's final 15 games. During Stanford's Final Four run, she averaged 15.4 points on 52.5 percent shooting, 8.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in five NCAA Tournament games.
Smith will be joined in India by Stanford alumna Jillian Harmon, who will play for New Zealand. The 2009 Stanford graduate and 2008 Olympian has played most of the last nine years in Italy. She led Le Mura Lucca to the national title this year, averaging 17.2 points and 6.7 rebounds a game.
At the just-concluded William Jones Cup in Taipei, a friendly competition to gear up for the Asia Cup, New Zealand went 4-1 and Harmon averaged 12.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
Australia is in Group B at the FIBA Asia Cup, which begins July 23, along with Korea, the Philippines and Japan. Group A consists of New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and China. The four countries to reach the semifinals will qualify for the 2018 FIBA World Cup.
