Sam Smith is looking to close out her senior season with a bang. 

The Greenfield High School alum has the Babson women’s basketball team on the brink of making program history. The Beavers locked up a spot in the NCAA Div. 3 tournament following a 23-5 regular season that saw them reach the NEWMAC tournament final.

Last weekend Babson won its opening two games of the NCAA tournament to advance to the Round of 16, a place the program hasn’t gotten to since 2017. It’ll host Marietta College (Ohio) on Friday with a spot in the Elite 8 on the line – a round the program has reached just two times prior but never advanced past. 

With the way Babson is playing, Smith hopes her team can continue its run and reach unchartered territory.

“It’s the first time I’ve been this far in the tournament,” Smith said. “It’s been a while for the program. This being my senior year, all you can hope for is a great season and to go as far as you possibly can. I hope there’s more games to come.” 

The Beavers’ success shouldn’t come as any surprise. Last year, Smith was one of two juniors on the team, but there were no seniors. Babson brought in 10 new freshmen during the 2021-22 campaign but still finished the season with a 20-8 record and a trip to the NCAA tournament, where it bowed out in the Round of 32. 

The entire team returned this year — a rarity in this age of college sports — while also adding transfers to improve the squad.  

“It’s been a really exciting year,” Smith said. “We have a pretty good team. Everyone is back from last year and the energy has been really high all year. We’ve been able to build off of what we did last year and we’ve been pretty solid all year.” 

As a junior, Smith was forced to step into a leadership role being one of the oldest players on the team. That role has come more naturally to her this year, helping the Beavers fight through adversity they’ve faced.

“I’ve been working on being in a leadership role the last couple years,” Smith said. “I try to do a good job of focusing on keeping the team together. When we hit adversity we try to maintain a high spirit. We’re a close team on and off the court.” 

For Smith, it’s all been about staying on the court. 

After fighting through injuries her first three years with Babson, she’s been able to stay healthy this winter and has started all 30 of the Beavers’ contests. She’s averaging a career-high 26.3 minutes-per-game, is second on the team in scoring by averaging 12.8 PPG while also leading Babson in rebounds (7.6 per game) and block (2.1 per game). 

“It’s been great to stay healthy all year,” Smith said. “I’ve had some injuries in the past but to come back my senior season and start every game has been amazing. Megan Bauman and I are the only two seniors and we’ve been giving it our all all season.” 

Smith has come up big for the Beavers during the tournament thus far. She scored 12 points and swatted two shots as Babson defeated Maine Maritime, 69-44, in the opening round of the tournament last Friday. 

Against New Paltz in the Round of 32 on Saturday, Smith tossed in 18 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and blocked three shots to help the Beavers advance with a 76-66 triumph. 

She’ll look to keep it rolling against Marietta, which comes to Babson with a 22-7 record. 

“We just have to play our game,” Smith said. “We have to play fast and maintain our pace. We’ve had two close games at the half but came out strong and built on our lead to close it out comfortably. Marietta plays a lot of girls and is very athletic. They’re in the Sweet 16 so you can’t underestimate anyone. All you can hope for is that you’re still playing this time of year. We’ve seen some good teams fall already so we have to take this opportunity on and play our best.” 

Expect a good contingent of Greenfield people making the trip to Wellesley on Friday. Smith said she’s appreciating the support from her hometown. 

“So many of my friends come out and make the trip when they can to support me,” Smith said. “It means so much to me.” 

Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on Friday, as Smith hopes to keep her basketball career going. After the season, she’ll begin her search for a job in marketing.

“I credit the coaching staff who have been amazing throughout my time at Babson,” Smith said. “They’ve really developed my game throughout the years. It’s taken four years to get to this point and it’s been such an amazing experience. I’m not ready to stop playing basketball.”

If the Beavers win Friday, they would play on Saturday against either the University of Chicago or Rhode Island College in the Elite 8.

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