Sa'Myah Smith, one of the brighter spots in the early going this season for the reigning NCAA champion LSU women's basketball team, will be out for the remainder of the season.

"She tore her knee up," Tigers coach Kim Mulkey told reporters during her media availability Wednesday, a day before No. 7 LSU (6-1) clashes with No. 9 Virginia Tech (5-1) as part of the annual ACC/SEC Challenge inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Thursday night (8 p.m., ESPN). "She had her other knee torn up in high school, so she's been through this. So it's ACL, MCL.

"Can't have her surgery until the MCL can heal a little bit so it'll be about three weeks."

The sophomore forward went down in the first couple of minutes of LSU's first game at the Cayman Islands Classic Friday against Niagara. She was driving to the basket and as she went to plant to go up for a shot, she slipped and her legs gave way underneath her.

Smith was off to a great start to the 2023-24 season, averaging nearly 14 points and 8.5 rebounds per game prior to suffering the injury.

"When she didn't get up, I knew it was serious. So I went out on that floor and was trying to distract her so they could evaluate her knee and I was talking to Sa'Myah. I said, 'Sa'Myah you know what this feels like, tell me what you felt,'" Mulkey said. "Just making her talk.

"She knew. The things she told me, she knew. Sa'Myah's personality is such that, she's just a quiet young lady who is just good. She understands that she can get this year back, she understands that injuries happen and she's just Sa'Myah. She's not going to be at practice feeling sorry for herself, she's not going to bring her teammates down. She'll be there cheering, she'll be there with us the entire year. We'll get this fixed."

Her increased and improved production early this season was needed for the Tigers, who have had to navigate some tumultuous times in the first couple of weeks with Angel Reese being away from the team for four games.

Smith started six of the Tiger's first seven games and was shooting 66% from the field, helping stave off any dropoff from Reese's absence in the early going.

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"The timing of her injury is just too sad because she's improved leaps and bounds. She stayed here all summer," Mulkey said. "Angel being back helps but there's no substitute for the value that Sa'Myah has to our team and what she's meant thus far."

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU women's basketball's Sa'Myah Smith out for season