Zahra King's goal heading into her sophomore season was to have a real impact on her team.

She had no idea what that would look like, however once she stepped foot on the SMU campus over the summer, the 5-foot-10-inch guard got to work. King said she put in all kinds of extra work.

King wanted to be ready for whatever was thrown her way.

Little did she know at the time that she would end up learning a new position (point guard) on the fly after multiple injuries to her teammates. And that she would become the Mustangs leading scorer.

But, as with everything else, King has taken it in stride.

"When opportunities come and knock on your door, you have to be able to be prepared and take them." King said. "I think that's what I was ready to do.

With two games left in the regular season, King has averaged 15 points and over the last 13 games, she is averaging 17.8 points per game. This goes back to the Georgia Tech game where she put up 21 points, picked five steals went 8 of 16 from the field in 35 minutes of action.

She has scored 20 or more points in six games with five of those coming in ACC play and ll in those last 13 games.

During this time, she's also collected 25 of her 47 total steals for the season and 24 of her 43 total assists.

King has been one of the most efficient guards in the ACC – third only to Notre Dame's duo of Hannah Hidalgo and Cassandre Prosper -- shooting 44.9% – all while figuring out a new position and a new system.

King will be the first to tell you that it wasn't as easy as SMU coach Adia Barnes giving her the ball and having her run the offense. There's been so much to learn about one of the most important positions on the court.

"It's been a little bit of a challenge that I've been working through," King said. "I think at the end of the day, it's going to make me grow and get better. But playing out of position … I like playing off the ball and letting the game come to me when I touch the ball. Then I can create something and make something happen. But now in a point guard role, you have to set up your teammates, make sure everybody's in their spots, understand what's best for the team.

That may not be you going and scoring the ball at that exact moment. It might be you getting the ball, getting off the ball, coming back and getting it later in the shot clock and scoring the ball.

"Understanding that has been the growth area for me."

Another layer of difficulty for King is learning those tendencies of her teammates with many of them in and out of the lineup. Out of 15 players on the roster, only four, including King, have played in all 28 games this season.

Leaving a legacy
One game King remembers well was when she led the Mustangs to their first ACC victory at Pitt on January 18.

She had a little extra incentive as her entire family drove down from New York to watch her play. King said she didn't put extra pressure on herself; she just let the game come to her. And boy, did it, as she put up a 40-piece.

"I knew deep in my heart that I wanted to play well for (my family)," King said. "I kind of heard them in the crowd while we were playing, and I kept hearing them, and they kept energizing me. After that, I was just pretty much in the flow of everything. I didn't realize that I was scoring at that efficient clip, until I looked up at the scoreboard."

How efficient? King shot 11 of 19 from the floor, 7 of 12 from long range and 11 of 13 from the free throw line. She also had three assists, four steals and three rebounds.

She has now left her mark on SMU by scoring the third-most points in a game. The last time a Mustang scored 40 on more points was in 1997, when Shawna Ford put up 42 against TCU. King is now tied for second in most 3s made in a game by a Mustang.

In the first half she scored 11 points (3 of 5 from long range), but after halftime she poured in 29 points.

"I knew I was in the groove in the first half, because I just kind of felt that way," King said. "They kept kind of going under screens, and I just pulled behind the screen and hit the shot."

King added she just felt comfortable and that let her play in rhythm. All it took was seeing the ball go in the basket early on. She was feeling it, whether it was driving to the hoop or knocking down a 3.

Of course, she was quick to say that the defense, especially in the second half, turned it up a notch. It was tenacious. They were narrowing the passing lanes, not giving Pitt any space to get into their offensive flow, as well as forcing turnovers (16 in the second half).

King knows that being uncomfortable, playing out of position, only helps her in the future and she looks at this season as one of growth. Whether it's reading defenses better, becoming SMU's go-to scorer, earning her spot in the starting lineup for all but one game this season or even averaging 29 minutes of action, all of this is new to King.

King also knows she shouldn't be too hard on herself, after all she is only a sophomore who didn't have many reps in her rookie year at Cal (19 games, averaging 8.2 minutes). And, all of this takes time.

"Coach Adia has helped me slow the game down, watching film and breaking it down," King said. "Even in practice, sometimes I'll be at the top of the key, somebody sets a screen and I'll just go try to score the ball, because naturally I'm thinking, put the ball in the basket. But Coach Adia is like, 'OK, slow down. Maybe if you are coming, you see a screen and there's two people, you draw two people, kick it, get off the ball. Now, when you get a ball, get the ball back, you can go the attack.' She's teaching me nuances. She's also telling me that it's OK when I am making these mistakes, because I get hard on myself a little bit about it. I want to have it immediately, have it now, but it's a process. She's helping me through that."

For King, having a coach like Barnes, who works with her every day, is integral to her growth as a player. And there aren't many coaches who would have given her the keys to the offense this season. She doesn't take any of this for granted.

"I love the fact that she believes in me and has the trust in me," King said. "It's cool that she trusts me to learn these new things, gives me the reigns to go score and be free and play my game. … Establishing that trust with Coach Adia from the beginning has meant a lot. Because that's how I operate best. Having coaches that I can trust, and I can talk to all the time and can pick their brain. We have a really good relationship."