BATON ROUGE — How LSU women's basketball won its first NCAA championship two seasons ago, at least around Baton Rouge, is now a tale as old as time.
Any time you ask coach Kim Mulkey, Angel Reese, Flau'jae Johnson or any player on that team, they are quick to remind you the team doesn't hoist the trophy in Dallas without their "supporting cast."
Names like LaDazhia Williams, Jasmine Carson, Kateri Poole and Last-Tear Poa all played their role in critical moments, culminating with a national title.
As Mulkey and LSU (28-05) embark on another March Madness run when it opens up NCAA Tournament play against San Diego State on Saturday (9:15 p.m., ESPN) , questions of who could be that next player to ascend and help lift the team begs to be asked. Plenty has been made of Johnson, star forward Aneesah Morrow and sophomore sensation Mikaylah Williams.
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Who else will step up?
Junior forward Sa'Myah Smith has traversed the path before with LSU two years ago.
"I think that experience definitely helps, I think experience helps with anybody really," Smith said. "Knowing what it takes to get back to the national championship game, an Elite Eight, a Sweet 16, being there already, it does help."
Smith tore her ACL early in the season last year and was forced to sit out her teammates' run back to the Elite Eight before being bounced by Iowa in Albany, New York.
She remembers watching from the bench this time last season. That experience has shifted her mindset coming into this year's NCAA Tournament.
"I'm motivated a lot. Not being able to play was tough," Smith said. "I just wanted to be out there and contribute to the team. This team we have now, I'm glad I am out there playing and am able to contribute.
"It's been a season. I would do it all over again if I could. We're back in March Madness so that's the most important thing. Being back out after being out for a year, it definitely was emotional and was up-and-down. But I'm just glad I'm able to be back on the court."
Just do your job. That's been the message from Mulkey to her team, the big three included. It's the buy-in to the individual roles and execution of them that pay off.
"You have to have them all do what they do best," Mulkey said. "You don't have to go get a role player and say, 'You need to score this many points for us to win.' You have to play your role. We did kind of mention that, we win the National Championship because of three bench players: Poa, Sa'Myah and Carson.
"Everybody's got to play good. They don't have to play above what they're capable of doing, just play good and be solid."
What LSU needs most in the postseason, Johnson said, is a "super" post presence. Teams in March Madness — like a potential matchup in the Elite Eight with No. 1 overall seed UCLA and center Lauren Betts — will have good post play and the Tigers will need to find balance.
That's where Smith comes in.
"You need a post presence," Johnson said. "You need a post that can defend, you need a post that can score, you need a post that can run the floor. For (Smith) to complement Nees. That's what people don't realize when we had that run, we had Angel but Day was there. She was our savior when they would dial in on Angel.
"You definitely need (Smith) to complement one of the best players in the nation."
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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com .
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Why LSU women need F Sa'Myah Smith for deep NCAA Tournament run
