In her first year on the Southern Oregon University women’s basketball coaching staff, Natasha Smith joins the Raiders after previously being a fixture on the California college basketball scene – both as a player and a coach.
Smith, a product of Sacramento’s Sheldon High, put together one of the most decorated playing careers in Chico State University basketball history from 2007 to ’12. Among the Wildcats’ all-time statistical leaders, she ranks first in games played (130), sixth in scoring (1,371 points), third in assists (387), fourth in free throws made (318), fifth in steals (190) and ninth in 3-pointers made (130). She was a three-time All-California Collegiate Athletic Association selection and left with a career record of 90-40.
Smith’s coaching career also began at Chico State, where she helped guide the Wildcats to a CCAA championship in 2012-13. For the next two years, she was an assistant at Cal State Dominguez Hills, helping lead that program back to prominence with back-to-back conference tournament championships and automatic bids to the NCAA Div. II tournament. During her time there, she coached 10 All-CCAA players and two regional all-stars.
Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology at Chico State. At Cal State Dominguez Hills, she completed a master’s degree in education.