LSU's Sa'Myah Smith 'Fine' After Fainting During White House Ceremony for NCAA Champs

LSU head women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey said freshman forward Sa'Myah Smith is OK after fainting during the team's visit to the White House on Friday.

According to Reuters (h/t ESPN), Smith fainted and had to be helped off the stage, but Mulkey provided a positive update a short time later, saying: "As you can see, we leave our mark where we go. Sa'Myah planned that. No, Sa'Myah is fine, for those of you who are concerned. I'll assure you of that. ... She doesn't want to leave. She wants to stand with us but she needs to be checked out."

President Joe Biden, who was on hand to meet the team, also commented, saying: "It's a lot of standing. I apologize. It's OK. It's happened lots of times."

The stream of the event temporarily cut out as medical personnel attended to Smith, but it returned shortly thereafter when Mulkey and Biden addressed the situation.

Smith, who is a 6'2" forward from DeSoto, Texas, appeared in 36 games for the national champion Tigers in her freshman season, averaging 4.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks while shooting 51.6 percent from the field.

LSU won its first-ever NCAA tournament title in women's basketball this season thanks largely to the play of Angel Reese, who was named the tourney's Most Outstanding Player.

On the season, Reese averaged 23.0 points, 15.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks per game for an LSU team that beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa 102-85 in the national championship game.

There had been some question about whether the LSU women's basketball team would visit the White House after Reese took issue with first lady Jill Biden initially saying she wanted the Iowa women's basketball team to attend as well.

Things were eventually smoothed out, and Reese even shared a hug with the first lady on Friday.

The Tigers seem like a strong bet to return to the White House as national champs next year since Reese is returning for her senior season, and they have secured some big-time transfers in former Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith and former DePaul forward Aneesah Morrow.