Kiwi basketballer Kaylee Smiler got more than she expected for her senior night celebrations at Brigham Young University.
It’s common practice that collegiate athletes in their final year at the school are celebrated and farewelled at the final home game of the regular season.
An emotional moment was taken up a notch for the Kiwi guard as her parents arrived to celebrate with her and a haka was performed for her by family and friends.
The Hamiltonian, who has been at the division one school in Utah since 2019, started in all 29 of her appearances for BYU this season, averaging about seven points and four assists per game. In the final game of her season, she posted six points and three steals in a 64-54 win over University of Houston. The win moved BYU to 16-14 for the season with one game left on the schedule.
A coaching change in her last two campaigns with the school had Smiler carve out a bigger role for herself as she started in 58 of her 60 appearances in the last two seasons after starting none before that.