Kiara Smith has earned First Team All-SEC honors and All-Defensive honors while Alberte Rimdal was named to the All-Freshman team.
UF WBK: Smith and Rimdal Earn SEC Postseason Honors
Kiara Smith has earned First Team All-SEC honors and All-Defensive honors while Alberte Rimdal was named to the All-Freshman team.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Florida women’s basketball guards Kiara Smith and Alberte Rimdal both earned Southeastern Conference Postseason honors, with Smith being named to the All-SEC First Team and All Defensive team while Rimdal collected All-Freshman team honors, the SEC announced Tuesday afternoon.
Smith has solidified her spot as one of the best to wear the Orange & Blue during her time with the Gators. This season alone, the graduate is averaging 14.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.4 steals per game. In SEC play, Smith has raised her level even further, averaging 17.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game, helping her to two SEC Player of the Week honors during the year. The District Heights, Md., native has scored in double-figures 24 times this season, including a season-best 27 points in a comeback victory at No. 25 Texas A&M.
Leaving her mark in the Florida record book, Smith is currently 12th in total points scored (1501), fifth in free throws made (339), fifth in total steals (219), fifth in total assists (433), fifth in total starts (115), third in consecutive starts (105) and third in minutes played (3948).
With her postseason honors, Smith became just the third Gator to be named to the SEC All-Defensive team, joining Jennifer George (2013) and Simone Westbrook (2016) while also becoming the first Florida women’s basketball athlete to earn First Team honors since Ronni Williams in 2017.
Rimdal’s placement on the SEC All-Freshman team marked the third-consecutive year that the Gators have placed an athlete on the team. The Koge, Denmark native put together a strong freshman campaign, averaging 4.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. During SEC play, the freshman averaged 5.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.1 made three-pointers per game.
Known for her long-range threat, Rimdal shot 37.9% from deep during the season and 38.9% from long range in SEC play. She was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Jan. 18 and the United States Women’s Basketball Writers Associate National Freshman of the Week on Jan. 25. Rimdal scored a career-high 17 points while shooting 5-of-5 from deep at Alabama, following that game with 15 points and 5-of-6 shooting from deep at Kentucky. Her efforts made her the first freshman in UF history to record back-to-back games with five three-pointers made.
The Gators are slated to begin postseason play on Thursday, March 3, when they face-off with the winner of Texas A&M/Vanderbilt at approximately 3:30 p.m. ET.
First Team All-SEC
Kiara Smith, Florida
Jenna Staiti, Georgia
Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
Khayla Pointer, LSU
Shakira Austin, Ole Miss
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Destanni Henderson, South Carolina
Jordan Horston, Tennessee
Second Team All-SEC
Brittany Davis, Alabama
Amber Ramirez, Arkansas
Aicha Coulibaly, Auburn
Que Morrison, Georgia
Alexis Morris, LSU
Anastasia Hayes, Mississippi State
Aijha Blackwell, Missouri
Hayley Frank, Missouri
Zia Cooke, South Carolina
Tamari Key, Tennessee
All-Freshman Team
Samara Spencer, Arkansas
Jersey Wolfenbarger, Arkansas
Alberte Rimdal, Florida
Jada Walker, Kentucky
Denae Carter, Mississippi State
Sara Puckett, Tennessee
Sacha Washington, Vanderbilt
Iyana Moore, Vanderbilt
All-Defensive Team
Kiara Smith, Florida
Que Morrison, Georgia
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Tamari Key, Tennessee
Jordyn Cambridge, Vanderbilt
Player of the Year – Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Freshman of the Year – Samara Spencer, Arkansas
Defensive Player of the Year – Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
6th Woman of the Year – Angel Baker, Ole Miss
Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Mikayla Coombs, Georgia
Coach of the Year – Dawn Staley, South Carolina
– #GoGators –
