Smith Named To All-WNBA First Team


The 2003 All-WNBA teams. First team (first row): Sue Bird, Seattle; Katie Smith, Minnesota; Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles; Lauren Jackson, Seattle; Tamika Catchings, Indiana. Second team (second row): Deanna Nolan, Detroit; Nikki Teasley, Los Angeles; Cheryl Ford, Detroit; Sheryl Swoopes, Houston; Swin Cash, Detroit. (Jesse D. Garrabrandt, WNBAE/Getty Images)
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2003 All-WNBA First and Second Teams
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Sept. 14, 2003 � The WNBA today announced that Lynx guard Katie Smith has been named to the 2003 All-WNBA First Team presented by Bud Light, her fourth consecutive all-league honor. Smith earned All-WNBA First Team honors in 2001, and All-WNBA Second Team honors in 2000 and 2002.

Smith, the all-time leading scorer in the history of women's U.S. professional basketball (WNBA/ABL) with 4,298 points, led the Lynx (for the fourth consecutive season) and finished fifth in the WNBA in scoring with 18.2 ppg. The 5-11 guard started all 34 contests and established career highs in field-goal accuracy (45.7%), three-point field goal percentage (39.0%) and rebounding (4.1 rpg). She also ranked sixth in the WNBA in minutes (34.9 mpg) and seventh in free throw percentage (88.1%). Smith topped the Lynx in scoring on 22 occasions, while recording double figures in 30 games and tallying 20+ points 14 times. In July, Smith played in the WNBA All-Star Game for the fourth straight season.

Smith established several milestones during the 2003 WNBA campaign. She became the first player in the history of U.S. women's professional basketball (WNBA/ABL) to eclipse the 4,000-point plateau when she scored a season-high 34 points on July 10 vs. Connecticut. On July 1 at Houston, Smith, the league's fifth all-time leading scorer (2,867), became the second-fastest player (139 games) and the seventh overall to tally 2,500 career WNBA points.

Smith also tied WNBA single-game records for three-pointers made in a game (seven) and in a half (five) on June 14 at Seattle. Smith became the first player in WNBA history to reach 300 career three-pointers (June 10 at Los Angeles), and was the first to surpass 500 three-pointers in U.S. women's professional history (June 27 vs. Phoenix). She also established a WNBA-record string of 32 consecutive games with a made three-pointer (7/31/02 through 8/2/03).

Minnesota completed its most successful WNBA season in its five-year history in 2003. The Lynx earned the team's first-ever WNBA Playoffs berth, and won its first-ever playoff game with a 74-72 defeat of Los Angles after rallying from a 21-point deficit. The Lynx eventually dropped the best-of-three series (1-2) to the Sparks. Minnesota, under the direction of first-year head coach Suzie McConnell Serio, finished the 2003 regular season with several franchise records including most wins (18), most home victories (11) and most consecutive home wins (7).

Players named to the 2003 All-WNBA First and Second Teams were selected by position by a voting panel consisting of national media representatives, as well as media personnel from each of the league's 14 markets. First Team votes received five points and Second Team votes received three points. Each All-WNBA player will receive a Tiffany-designed trophy. In addition, Bud Light will present each member of the First Team with $10,000 and each member of the Second Team with $5,000.