Tayah Smith is a Dayton Greendevils basketball player, but nearly half her playing uniform is black. It sets her apart from teammates, as does her playing style, which necessitates all the black gear.
“Tayah gives 100%,” Dayton coach Laura Hall said. “This girl plays really hard.”
That means diving for loose balls and hitting the floor while being cognizant of previous injuries and concussions. Smith’s aggressive, physical style often gets her entangled with the arms, legs, hands, and fingers of various defenders who would like to stop her.
Smith decided she needed protection.
At home or on the road, Smith proudly displays Dayton’s green and white school colors, topped by black prescription athletic goggles. From mid-thigh down, Smith wears long black knee sleeves that stretch nearly all the way to her black sneakers. When she plays in white sneakers, Smith likes black socks.
If Smith didn’t wear goggles, she would be getting swiped in the face or poked in the eye. If she didn’t wear leg-length sleeves, she’d have more bumps, bruises and floor burns. With a concussion in the past that cost her a handful of games, it’s important Smith avoids hitting her head. That requires an ability to brace for falls, something Smith has mastered with the help of protective gear.
Dayton standout Axie Jimenez looks at Smith in all her gear and sees a player working hard for teammates.
“I feel like every team should have a girl like that because Tayah is such a great role model,” Jimenez said. “She is a great senior.”
Smith is Dayton’s only senior.
The 5-foot-9 forward is co-captain of the team along with Jimenez, a freshman. They rank 1-2 on the Greendevils in scoring and among team rebounding leaders. Jimenez averages 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while offering a threat from long range with 38% accuracy on 3-pointers. Smith averages 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds while providing indispensable leadership and wisdom.
“In practice, she leads by example,” said coach Hall, who counts herself lucky to have Smith around to help steady the team. “In games, she’s more vocal by getting everybody fired up.”
Smith carries a lot of Dayton pride. Her parents attended the high school. Her dad played Greendevils football, and her mom was a cheerleader. Smith detests losing, which is why she’s willing to go to extremes to make a difference for Dayton, a high school with fewer than 150 girls enrolled in grades 9-12.
The deck is stacked against small schools the size of Dayton, which is why Smith is willing to hit the deck and take a spill on the hardwood for the benefit of the team. In this way, Smith represents the essence of Dayton athletics by overcoming obstacles to achieve success while playing for the love of the game.
“We’re a small school,” Smith said. “I feel like some people might look down on small schools, so I work hard.”
Smith is not only a force on the court, but she is also an excellent student at Dayton, carrying a 3.7 grade-point average. She has been a student of the month, earning the distinction in the third grade. She has competed in softball and cross country while in the school district. Smith began playing Dayton girls varsity basketball in the previous decade. She started her Greendevils career as a seventh-grade point guard in 2019-20.
This season, Smith has a ranking at Prep Girls Hoops’ Kentucky high school girls basketball 2025 player rankings.
But Smith has also had her ups and downs on the Dayton basketball court, in addition to the hardwood spills that left all those bumps and bruises. Hall, a Dayton graduate, is the third head basketball coach since Smith started with the team. Smith was leading the Greendevils in scoring average as a sophomore but exited the program after 14 games only to recommit to the sport. She returned her junior season and nearly led Dayton in scoring again.
“I left but I came back,” Smith said. “I’m glad I did.”
All of this caused Smith to miss more than 20 games in her varsity basketball career since she tipped it off with 19 points in 12 appearances as a seventh grader. She played her 100th career game Dec. 28 against Eminence. It’s also created one of the area’s more unheralded milestone pursuits of the 2024-25 high school basketball season. In fact, Smith is not only flying below the radar as she edges closer to the exclusive 1,000-point club, she’s doing so in dramatic fashion.
“I didn’t even know I was close until I saw a paper,” Smith said. “At the time, it said I needed 351 points to hit 1,000.”
Smith has whittled the total significantly. She needs 159 to reach 1,000.
Smith enters Friday night’s game at Bellevue with 841 career points. Dayton has 11 games remaining on the regular season schedule with at least one district playoff game to follow. Dayton hasn’t played two postseason games in the same season since 2020. The unforgiving 36th District features perennial power Highlands. There’s also history-rich Newport Central Catholic and small-school stalwart Bellevue. Newport beat Dayton twice in the last three seasons in the district tournament quarterfinal.
The range of total number of remaining Dayton games begins at 12. It could easily be 13 if the Greendevils can pull off a playoff win. All of this matters mightily in Smith’s pursuit of 1,000 career points.
If Dayton plays 12 more games, Smith maintains her average and avoids lost time, she expects to score another 156 points, giving her a career total of 997. If Dayton plays 13 remaining games while Smith maintains her average and stays healthy, she expects to finish with 1,010 points. With just 12 more Dayton games, Smith needs to average 13.25 points to reach 1,000.
“Tayah never gives up,” Jimenez said. “I think she can definitely hit it because we play well together.”
Smith has scored fewer than nine points in a game just once this season. She has a season high of 23 and a low of seven. She is averaging 13.3 points over her last three games.
“It’s close,” coach Hall said. “She deserves the recognition either way.”
Whether she reaches the milestone or not, Hall indicated Smith’s impact on her team and her school is undeniable. The senior’s dedication, leadership and passion for basketball have left a lasting legacy at Dayton High School.
“Any coach would want a player like that,” Hall said. “We’re glad she’s at Dayton.”