Iowa Athlete Makes National News After Insane Performance

Iowa girls are simply built differently. Girls and women's basketball is in such a special place in this state. The talent pool is brimful, and best of all, multiple young women are getting the recognition they deserve.

Now, it's Ava Smid's turn in the spotlight following an absolutely jaw-dropping stretch in the Iowa's Class 4A girls basketball semifinal that saw her score 8 points in 12 seconds to give Dallas Center-Grimes (DCG) High School the lead over Norwalk High School last week. Smid's burst and efficiency led her to being showcased on ABC World News Tonight with David Muir.

READ MORE: Caitlin Clark Goes Deep in Sit Down with David Letterman

How Ava Smid Scored 8 Points in 12 Seconds:

When DCG's timeout call, the team was trailing. They had some momentum after sophomore center Ava Smid scored two points, shrinking the lead to four. A Norwalk player traveled and gave DCG the ball back. When the game resumed, Smid cut between two defenders, grabbed the ball, and swiftly moved in for the layup. Another two points on the board.

She wasn't done, however. Being that the clock doesn't stop after a basket in high school basketball, Smid then intercepted a shovel pass from Norwalk's Makenna Roeder, and made another layup, with the clock still running. The game was then tied at 42 in the blink of an eye.

Roeder returned to the baseline for another inbound pass, basically repeating the same play over, and again letting Smid get her hand in between the pass. This time, however, she scooped the ball mid-air, dribbled, spun, and netted another layup. Now DCG was in the lead. 8 points in 12 seconds from the sophomore, who turned into an improbably feisty scorer in a few blinks-of-the-eye.

Smid finished with a team-high 16 points, paired with six steals and five rebounds. DCG defeated Norwalk 47-42 at the Casey's Center in Des Moines.

Smid's Reaction to Her Own Heroics:

When you hear athletes talking about being "in the zone," the statement sounds generic. You have to be in it, but you don't even realize you were in it until you're out of it. In a postgame interview, Smid still sounded like she was in shock:

Get our free mobile app

It was a blur. I didn’t even know what the score was at that point because the game was moving so fast. Eventually, when I got that and-one, I looked up at the score, and I realized we were winning - Ava Smid, per The Athletic

Smid's unbelievable performance attracted the attention of the ABC World News team, so much so that host David Muir made her the show's "Person of the Week" while dolling out high praise for the sophomore.

You can read more about Ava Smid's heroics for Dallas Center-Grimes High School on The Athletic's website.