Smith Is First Professional To Eclipse 4,000 Career Points

Smith is the all-time leading scorer in U.S. professional women's history. David Sherman, WNBAE/Getty Images

July 10, 2003 — Lynx guard Katie Smith scored the 4,000th point of her U.S. professional career in Thursday's 83-75 win against Connecticut. Smith, the all-time leading scorer in the history of U.S. women's professional basketball (WNBA/ABL), registered 34 points, giving her 4,013 professional points (228 games).

The first professional women's player to reach the 4,000-point plateau, Smith achieved the milestone on a free throw with 12:06 remaining in the game. The 5-11 guard has tallied 2,582 points in 142 WNBA games. She scored 1,431 points in two-plus seasons with the Columbus Quest of the ABL. Smith's 34 points is the WNBA's single-game high in 2003.

Earlier this season, Smith reached the 2,500-point plateau in her WNBA career (July 1 at Houston), becoming the second-fastest player in league history (139 games) to reach the mark. Smith, the WNBA's all-time leader in three-point field goals, recorded her 500th professional three-point field goal (ABL/WNBA) on June 27 vs. Phoenix.

Smith now leads the WNBA with an average of 19.7 points per game. A four-time All-Star, she will play for the Western Conference in the 2003 WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday at Madison Square Garden (3 p.m. CDT, ABC).

Feature story: Go-To Player