Smith Verbally Commits to Dartmouth
Due to her impressive skills on the basketball court and her strong academic prowess in the classroom, there was a very long list of colleges courting Olivia Smith. She had Division 1 scholarship offers from Maine, Holy Cross, Quinnipiac, UNH, Fairfield, and URI with significant interest from many others. In the end, Olivia decided the opportunity to play Division 1 basketball and obtain an Ivy League education was too good to pass up. Today she verbally committed to play for new head coach, Belle Koclanes, at Dartmouth College.
A two time All-State player, 2nd team All-SMAA member in 2012, and first team All-SMAA member in 2013, Smith has played for the Maine Firecrackers for seven season and has racked up a plethora of accolades, including All-Gym Rat and being listed on HoopGirlz top players in the class of 2014. Smith, also known as “Tuba” to her teammates, played very well on the historic run to the D2 AAU National Championship team in 2010. That Firecracker team remains the only girls team from Maine ever to win a D2 National Championship. Smith also played a key role in the last two McAuley high school state championships. In the final against Bangor this year, she led the Lions with 20 points. Smith figures to be a central beam in the rebuilding process at the prestigious Ivy League school in Hanover, NH going forward.
“Olivia is the player she is today because of the Firecracker program” said father Andy Smith, while her mother Andrea noted, “When Olivia joined the Firecrackers in 6th grade she embarked on a whole new trajectory as a player and as a person. We knew it would be a significant contributor to her development on and off the court.”
Head Coach Don Briggs sung Olivia’s praises, “Olivia did everything we asked and came to every single practice ready to work hard each day. She is a gifted student, an outstanding player, and best of all she is a humble and great teammate. I am extremely proud of her. She is being rewarded today for the great choices she has made over the past seven years and is an ideal role model for the younger kids in our program and outside our program across the state.”