Bio

Known as a fierce competitor with a strong will and determination, Ayeshia Smith left her mark as one of the best basketball players to ever play at Cowley College. She has continued to achieve great things in her personal life as she is working on her Doctorate. Recognized for the tremendous things she has accomplished, Smith was inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.

Smith was born in Los Angeles, CA and lived there until her family moved to Philadelphia, PA at the age of 12. She was a talented basketball player that played for the AAU Comets and spent her high school career at Marion Mercy Academy.

During high school she was a two-time All-American and helped Marion Mercy Academy win a state title as a sophomore. She had such a stellar high school career that she remains the school's all-time leading scorer.

Darin Spence, who was then the head coach of the Lady Tigers, and his assistant Todd Clark, who is the current head coach at Cowley, learned of Smith through the AAU circuit and invited her to come to Cowley for a college visit.

Smith enjoyed her visit and decided to sign with the Lady Tigers.

"I felt comfortable with the coaches and knew Cowley was what I needed in order to focus on my academics and basketball," Smith said."

In her first season at Cowley she helped the team to a school-record 32-win season and a conference title. The Lady Tigers won their first 20 games of the year and advanced to the Region VI title game before having its season come to an end.

"That first team was exciting, I felt we needed to be at the (NCAA) DI level," Smith said. "We wanted to come together and play well for our coaches and one another."

She averaged 15.8 points per game as a freshman and her 538 points scored still rank as the eighth most points scored in a single season in the history of the Lady Tiger program.

After coming so close to qualifying for the national tournament, Smith immediately got back to work on improving her game.

"She worked so hard in that spring and did double duty on the court," Spence said. "When we had workouts and had scrimmages, I made her play all left handed to make her better. She would then stay on the court and coach Mark Nelson (Cowley men's coach) threw her in with the guys' team during their scrimmages."

In her final year at Cowley, she was the team's starting point guard and averaged 13.9 points per game, while helping the Lady Tigers make it back-to-back Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division titles as they finished with a record of 29-4.

Smith's 458 points scored that season rank as the 18th most points scored in a single season, while her 996 career points are the fourth most points scored in a career.

"Her inner drive, come game time, was second to none," Spence said. "She handled the ball with great confidence and did a very good job of getting her team organized and also knowing when it was time to get her own points. She was a team floor leader and a scorer from the point position. She had such a strong will, that her teammates had no choice but to improve and compete with her."

Smith's teams at Cowley combined to go 61-6 during her two years at the school. She remains in touch with several former teammates, including, Moneeke Bowden, Brandi Harris, Donnelle Love, Courtney Pierce, and Brandi Flisram.

"I wish I could have extended my stay at Cowley to four years," Smith said. "I appreciated the opportunity to play with a group of females that understood and respected the game."

Smith went on to sign with the University of Southern California and was a starter for the Lady Trojans before breaking her finger five games into her first season with the team. She was unable to find the same success she had at Cowley on the basketball court, but she did end up receiving a degree in sociology from USC.

She has since earned a Masters in Psychology from the University of Phoenix and is currently in the Doctoral program at Grand Canyon University.

She is employed as a mental health supervisor for the Devereux Foundation in Malvern, PA. She has two daughters, Aniya 4 and London 3, and is engaged to Tyrone Freeman.

Spence considers Smith to be one of his favorite players he has ever coached.

"She made a huge impact at Cowley," Spence said. "She took care of her school work, worked hard and took care of her business to make us all proud."

Smith looks back fondly on her time at Cowley and is humbled to be going into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame.

"Cowley was an incredible experience for me," Smith said. "The coaches challenged me to see how good I could become. They brought out the best in me. Knowing I am going into the (Tiger Athletic) Hall of Fame brings chills to my body just thinking about it. It is an amazing feeling and the ultimate accomplishment."