LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) announced their weekly basketball awards today, with Clarion's Jada Smith earning PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week honors for Dec. 20. Smith was a multi-faceted defensive force as Clarion went 2-1 overall last week.
 
Smith did a little bit of everything for the Golden Eagles over the course of three games, helping Clarion to conference wins over Millersville and Shepherd at home. She paced the team in rebounding with 10.7 boards per game and steals with 2.3 takeaways per game. She also blocked a pair of shots. In the win over the Marauders on Sunday, Smith finished with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds, as well as three steals. She contributed just three points in the victory over the Rams but had seven rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.
 
In Clarion's non-conference loss at Frostburg State earlier in the week, Smith grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds and also had a steal. Smith is averaging a team-high 9.1 rebounds per game this year.
 
Clarion's back-to-back wins over Millersville and Shepherd marked the first time the team had won consecutive conference games since January 2017. The win over the Marauders was the first career coaching victory for first-year head coach Jermaine Cooper.