How Kneah Smith has 'come alive' for Jones in second year of school basketball
JONES — Three gold stars accompany Kneah Smith’s name on a chart outside the Jones girls basketball team’s locker room.
One star represents 500 shots a player makes on her own time, not during games. This tracker is concrete proof of the Longhorns’ constant behind-the-scenes work, and senior forward Smith has committed herself to the process with 1,500 shots.
It’s one of several ways she has prepared herself to star on a three-time state champion team despite never playing school ball until the start of her junior year.
“I have to learn how to be on my feet more,” said Smith, who previously competed only on AAU circuits. “It’s a lot of adjustment.”
The differences might be obvious to Smith, but she played like a seasoned expert in the semifinals of her home tournament.
Smith led the Longhorns with 20 points as they defeated Ada, 48-40, on Friday night to reach the finals of the Jones Kiwanis Invitational against Classen SAS. The Longhorns (11-3) have extended their win streak to seven games, hitting their stride after some early bumps, and Smith is continuing to flourish throughout this surge.
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“She got a little time last year off the bench, but this year, obviously, she’s come alive,” said Jones coach Jenni Holbrook. “It’s been fun to see her progress and see her improve and get better every single game.”
After making school history with a state championship three-peat, the Longhorns realized this season would involve some major changes. They graduated six seniors, including the standout quartet of Boston Berry, Audrey Bain, Zoe Tucker and Jaelen Maples.
But Jones hasn’t designated this year for rebuilding.
The Longhorns have returned as one of the top Class 3A contenders again with new leaders. Senior guard Kasia Hansen and senior post Sofi Woodson, who stands at nearly 6-foot-3, have stepped into those roles, and so has Smith.
Initially attending high school at Choctaw, where she didn’t play basketball, Smith was inspired to start fresh when word spread about Holbrook’s winning program.
“Whenever I heard about the coaching here, I wanted to come over and give it a chance,” Smith said. “And I did, and the coaching worked.”
Although Smith hasn’t yet spent two full seasons at Jones, opponents already know to plan for her. Ada (8-7) routinely double-teamed her when she drove into the paint, but she made the defenders move with her and threaded between them for layups.
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Keeping Smith outside the paint didn’t work for Ada’s defense, either.
She capitalized on open looks beyond the arc, finishing with four 3-pointers.
Woodson also skillfully navigated double- and triple-teams as she recorded 11 points. Junior guard Karizma Johnson provided 11 points, including a trio of 3s, while junior point guard Karma Lewis added five assists.
Although the Longhorns are gelling at this point in the season, Holbrook is noticing room for improvement. She said her team played solid defense through three quarters but let up some in the fourth, when Ada added 15 points. It’s a continual process of growth, but the Longhorns are showing the dedication that drew Smith to their program in the first place.
The senior forward has identified what is working well for her team.
“I think it’s the preparation,” Smith said. “Our coaches are really good with getting our scouting reports and doing all of that good work. They take pride in that stuff.”
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Updates from other OKC-area girls basketball tournaments
Titan Classic
Friday semifinals at Carl Albert
Carl Albert relied on stout defense in a 41-23 victory over Westmoore to reach the Titan Classic finals.
The Titans’ shots weren’t falling early, but they headed into halftime with a 15-12 lead, holding the Jaguars to only six points in the second quarter.
“We didn’t allow our offense woes, at the time – because I thought we were getting good looks – to affect our defense,” said Carl Albert coach Kyle Richey. “Because sometimes one end affects another, and I was really proud of them. They said, ‘Shots will go eventually, Coach.’
The Titans were right.
In the fourth quarter, Carl Albert outscored Westmoore, 15-4. Sophomore forward Audrey Plunkett paced the Titans with 11 points, and senior forward Ausha Moore followed with 10.
Carl Albert will face Sand Springs in the championship game. Senior guard Sakauri Wilson stockpiled 32 points as Sand Springs slipped past Edmond Memorial, 58-54, in an overtime semifinal game.
The Bulldogs carried an 11-game win streak into the matchup, but Sand Springs has been their kryptonite. Edmond Memorial’s only two losses of the season have come to the Sandites.
Junior guard Janiyah Williams led the Bulldogs with 21 points, but the Sandites outscored Edmond Memorial, 8-4, in overtime. Wilson provided seven of those points.
-Hallie Hart
Cashion County Line Tournament
Friday semifinals at Cashion
Teague Muncy led Dale with 24 points in a 75-40 rout of Silo. The Pirates took a 21-12 lead in the first quarter and kept rolling.
Dale will face Cashion in the title game Saturday. Cashion defeated Perry, 57-44, in the semifinals.
-Hallie Hart
Shawnee Invitational
Lilly Thomas and Raegan Bugey combined for 36 points for El Reno as the Indians routed Coweta 79-23. After taking a 23-7 lead by the end of the first quarter, El Reno never looked back and outscored the Tigers 59-16 in the remaining three quarters.
In the win, El Reno forward Pauline Black-Harmon broke the all-time school rebound record, eclipsing the record of 656 previously set by former El Reno and Southern Nazarene star LeAnn Bezner in 1996.
El Reno will face off against Yukon in the Saturday finals at 7 p.m. Yukon defeated Shawnee 44-33 in the semifinals.
-Jordan Davis
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma high school basketball: Kneah Smith has Jones eyeing 3A run
