LSU sophomore forward Sa'Myah Smith will miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season with a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus in her right knee, the team announced Wednesday.
Smith suffered the injury in the first five minutes of the Tigers' 99-65 win over Niagara on Friday, the first of two games LSU played in as part of the Cayman Islands Classic. She is expected to have surgery at a later date.
Sa'Myah Smith will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus in her right kneehttps://t.co/kwk6NLK6T9
— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) November 29, 2023
Smith started six out of seven games this season. The Texas native was averaging 11.7 points on 66% shooting while adding 7.6 rebounds per game and a total of 11 blocks. She reached a career-high 21 points against both Queens and Mississippi Valley State this season.
This season saw Smith embrace a bigger role than last year, when she only started two games but still made the SEC All-Freshman team. Because it's still early in the 2023-24 campaign, it's expected she will receive a medical redshirt and get this year of eligibility back.
After Smith's injury, LSU was shorthanded Saturday against Virginia, although they still collected a 76-73 win. The team was also missing forward Angel Reese and guard Kateri Poole in that game. Reese will be back with the team Thursday when the Tigers host No. 9 Virginia Tech, a rematch from the 2023 Final Four.
