Posts by Michelle Smith

Michelle Smith has covered women's basketball nationally for nearly three decades. Smith has worked for ESPN.com, The Athletic, the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as Pac-12.com and WNBA.com. She was named to the Alameda County Women's Hall of Fame in 2015, is the 2017 recipient of the Jake Wade Media Award from the Collegiate Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA) and was named the Mel Greenberg Media Award winner by the WBCA in 2019.

Angel Reese and LaDazhia Williams of LSU celebrate their Final Four victory over Virginia Tech on March 31, 2023, in Dallas, Texas. Photo Credit: Domenic Allegra

LSU takes the program to a ‘crazy’ new place

April 1, 2023

“It’s crazy … I keep wanting to call somebody and say ‘Tell me how we did this in two years.’ I don’t know.”

Virginia Tech guard Georgia Amoore (5) reads the defense in Virginia Tech’s 73-64 win over Tennessee at the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, March 25, 2023, at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Wash. (Photo Credit: Lydia Ely)

Virginia Tech is going to face its big moment head on

March 26, 2023

“[Tonight] was a great opportunity for them to be nervous, and they weren’t.”

Kindyll Wetta, Jaylyn Sherrod and Frida Formann of Colorado. (Tyler Davis, CU Athletics)

Heart and soul leadership of Jaylyn Sherrod propels Colorado

March 24, 2023

‘She wants to win so badly’

Seven big questions for the Pac-12 in the NCAA Tournament

March 16, 2023

Pac-12 leads all conferences since 2015-16 in Final Four appearances

Destiny Littleton. (Photo courtesy of John McGillen/USC Athletics)

Littleton leading the “other USC” into the NCAA Tournament

March 9, 2023

“I just wanted to find the love I had for the game again.”

Kamie Ethridge celebrates with her players after knocking No. 3 ranked Utah out of the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday, March 2, 2023. Photo Credit: Powers Imagery

Ethridge’s tenacity turns Washington State into a winner

March 3, 2023

Kamie Ethridge has turned the tide for the Cougars program that is experiencing unprecedented success.

STANFORD, CA - DECEMBER 12: Cameron Brink during a game between Pacific and Stanford University at Maples Pavilion on December 12, 2021 in Stanford, California.

Can Stanford win with an old-school offensive scheme?

February 23, 2023

‘We have to maximize our strengths’

USC defining themselves as a Pac-12 power

February 18, 2023

How the Trojans meshed into a defensive juggernaut

UNLV building something big in the desert

February 2, 2023

The Rebels’ 80-57 win over their in-state rival was witnessed by a sellout crowd of more than 2,500 — the first in program history

Pac-12

Dissecting the Pac-12’s wild Sunday

January 17, 2023

The Pac-12 has nine teams currently in the Top 64 positions in the NCAA Net Rankings — eight of those teams among the Top 41