By Gladstone Harrris, Bloomfield College Sports Information Director.
BLOOMFIELD – Bloomfield College women’s basketball standout Tianna Smith (Spring Valley, N.Y.) on Tuesday, March 1, was named the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Student-Athlete of the Month for February 2016. The announcement was made by CACC Commissioner Dan Mara.
It capped an award-winning month for Smith, who just last week was named the 2015-16 CACC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, while also garnering a spot on the All-CACC First-Team. Smith earned the monthly award after demonstrating success on the court, in the classroom and in the community.
Smith was one of the conference’s top offensive threats during the regular season, as she ranked third in the league with 17.1 points per game on a solid 45 percent shooting the field, including a 41-percent clip from beyond the arc. Smith, who converted 169 field goals during the regular season (4th most in the CACC), scored in double-figures in all but one game. She scored 20 points or more in three of her last five regular season games, including a 28-point effort versus Holy Family University on Feb. 13. Smith also had a stretch during the middle of the season where she topped 20 points in six of 10 games. She also swiped 64 steals to rank fifth in the CACC.
Her success has carried over into the postseason, as she had 17 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists to lead Bloomfield to a 64-48 win over Chestnut Hill College in the CACC Championship Quarterfinals this past Saturday. The win propelled the Bears to the CACC Semifinals, which will be held this Friday, March 4, when Bloomfield takes on Holy Family at 12 p.m. in Orangeburg, N.Y. The Bears are the No. 1 overall seed in the conference tournament after producing an 18-1 league record to claim the CACC North Division Regular Season Championship.
Smith is also a success in the classroom, as the junior sports a 3.11 cumulative grade point average in her major of business administration.
Smith has also been involved in various community service projects throughout her collegiate career. She has participated in a “Clean the Streets” campaign with Delta Sigma Theta in Rockland County, while also volunteering for Camp Venture and Jawonio in Nanuet, N.Y., that assists people with special needs.
Smith becomes the sixth student-athlete to earn the top monthly award during the 2015-16 season. The award is given each month during the academic year (September-May) to a student-athlete who has achieved athletic success, produced outstanding work in the classroom and shown a desire to make a positive impact in the community.
Smith is the third basketball student-athlete to win the award this year, joining University of the Sciences’ Wes Kerr (December) and Chestnut Hill’s Caity Kuhnen (January). All three student-athletes will be recognized for their impressive honors at Thursday night’s CACC Basketball Championship Banquet, which will be held in Orangeburg, N.Y. and will kick off championship weekend at Dominican College.
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Nyack College, Philadelphia University, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.
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