WEST POINT – It was the Kya Smith show on Monday afternoon, as the Army West Point women’s basketball team closed out its non-conference slate with a massive 64-56 victory over Howard in Christl Arena.
Army (9-2) was led by Smith, who had the best game of her career, recording career-highs in points (27), rebounds (22) and made free-throws (15-15). It marks just the fifth time in program history that an Army player has had a 20-point, 20-rebound game and the first since Jan. 25, 2020, when Lindsay Scamman had 21 points and 22 rebounds against Navy. She joins Megan Nestor of North Texas as the only other player in the NCAA this season with 27-plus points and 22-plus rebounds in a game.
She is the second Army player since 2009-10 to record 27-plus points and 22 rebounds in a game, joining Madison Hovren, who accomplished the feat twice. Hovren and Smith are the only Patriot League players to post those numbers in a game since 2009-10. Smith’s 22 rebounds are tied for second most in a game in program history.
The Black Knights entered the game ranked No. 25 in the College Insider Mid Major Top 25, while Howard was 11 spots above them at No. 14.
Army got off to great start, especially on defense, and quickly built up a 7-1 lead through the opening four minutes. The Black Knights extended its lead to eight – 13-5 – but the Bison closed out the quarter on a 4-0 run to only trail 13-9 after the opening 10 minutes.
Smith had six rebounds in the opening quarter, proving she was well on her way to her fifth double-double of the season. Both teams struggled shooting the ball in the frame, as Howard was 3-16 from the field while Army was 4-17.
Army had a great first eight minutes of the second quarter, extending its lead to 10 but Howard closed strong to keep the game within reach at the break. Smith continued to dominate, putting up eight points and five rebounds in the second period. She completed the double-double, reaching 10 points and 10 rebounds, with 4:00 to play before the break.
Army took a 31-27 lead into halftime and it seemed each side was starting to settle into their offensive gameplans. After rough opening quarters, Howard shot 47.4 percent from the field in the second quarter, while Army knocked down half of its attempts.
The two teams opened the second half going back and forth on both ends of the court, with Army leading 36-34 at the media timeout. The Black Knights came out of the commercial break on a 5-1 run to take a six-point lead. Smith closed out the half with a layup with less than 30 seconds to go to give Army a 43-37 advantage going into the final 10 minutes of action. The junior forward scored seven of Army’s 12 points in the frame.
Howard found some momentum in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and cut Army’s lead down to one with 6:52 left. Thanks to a pair of free throws from Smith, the Black Knights were able to build the lead back up to four with under five minutes to play.
After a Camryn Tade layup and more Smith free throws, Army led 59-50 and was well on its way to a ninth win. All that was left was knocking down intentional foul free throws, which Army did.
The win marks the fourth in a row for Army, who is now 9-1 this season against non-Power 4 teams. In addition to the victory, Army saw Preseason All-Patriot League member Fiona Hastick return to the court for the first time this season. Hastick missed the opening 10 games due to injury.
