PLAINFIELD — Aniah Smith has been with Avon's varsity basketball team from the time she joined the program as a freshman. OK, unofficially, there's one non-varsity contest on her resume, but coach Will Staal will be the first to admit that was the result of a coaching oversight.

Smith, who's already creeping up the school's all-time scoring list with 758 points six games into her junior season, actually made her Orioles debut with the freshman team during a summer league game in 2021. That fun bit of trivia has become a running joke between the two — though to be fair, Staal was only a couple days into his tenure — and you could probably consider it a one-game tryout, because it only took Staal about a quarter to realize Smith belonged with the older girls. "I very quickly was like, 'Nope, up to varsity for you,'" he laughed.

Smith made the jump and went to work, aligning herself on her current upward trajectory. The 5-4 junior has steadily improved over her two-plus seasons, becoming more efficient as a shooter, while raising her scoring average from the 10.9 ppg she poured in as a freshman and establishing herself as an absolute menace on defense (173 career steals).

Smith was the No. 1 star in Avon's 74-62 upset of 10th-ranked Plainfield on Tuesday, pouring in a school-record 39 points on 15-of-26 shooting with three 3-pointers — her third straight contest with three 3s.

Five takeaways: Maya Makalusky's 30 points fuel HSE victory. 'She's as good as anyone in the state'

Through six games — against a schedule that's already included No. 14 Noblesville, No. 13 Zionsville, No. 6 Lawrence North and the aforementioned Quakers — Smith is averaging over 25 points (51% FG; 37% 3FG), six steals, three assists and five rebounds.

"She's over here getting double-teamed and just (weaving) through all of them," junior guard Mya Thompson said of Smith. "It's crazy."

One of the more impressive components of Smith's game is her creativity as a scorer. Listed at 5-4, the junior spent the summer building confidence and expanding her offensive arsenal, fleshing out her mid-range game, scoring off the dribble and creating opportunities for herself.

Smith knows she can't rely exclusively on driving to the basket for her scoring, but she is very good when those lanes open up. She's like a contortionist around the basket, twisting her body and deftly maneuvering through defenders to reach the rim, before going up with her shot, be it a straight lay-up, a reverse, an up-and-under or something else entirely. No matter how complex, it usually looks about as difficult as a fast-break layup for Smith.

"Aniah makes the hard things look so easy," Staal said. "There are times where I just put my hands on my head, because I don't know how she does it. She trusts her teammates so much, and she's trusting herself, which has been the biggest hurdle."

Smith is equally electrifying on defense.

Her 38-steal total is boosted by a school-record 18 in a rout of Terre Haute North, but she also logged three vs. Noblesville, four vs. Zionsville and eight against Plainfield.

GBB podcast: Episode 2 (Sneakers for Santa, rankings, more)

It helps that Smith is usually the fastest player on the floor and can jump, but her ability to read passers has only improved with age. She's a ball-hawk, at times looking like a defensive back. One of her eight steals Tuesday night came when Plainfield attempted a cross-court pass in the second half. Smith recognized the play, slid to her right and made a leaping one-handed grab before the ball could reach the wide-open shooter.

"It's mainly about being smart," Smith said, acknowledging that she'll occasionally run into foul trouble. "And I can jump pretty high, so if people try to throw over my head, I can grab it. Watching film and knowing people's tendencies helps, too."

Smith's record-setting performance Tuesday was part of a well-rounded team effort by the Orioles, who improved to 2-4 on the season with games against Lebanon (Dec. 2) and Terre Haute South (Dec. 5) ahead of a trip to conference foe Hamilton Southeastern (Dec. 8).

More on the Orioles and Quakers in Monday's weekly wrap column.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls basketball: Aniah Smith moves up Avon scoring list