Lady Rebels’ Katie Powell takes game to higher level

Katie Powell is usually the easiest player to spot on the court.

If it’s not the long gray hair that makes her stand out, it’s because UNLV’s junior post player is taller than most opponents at 6 feet 4 inches.

Or maybe it’s the “air” about her, as Lady Rebels coach Kathy Olivier calls it.

“Katie’s easy to see because she’s demanding of the basketball,” Olivier said. “She just has that presence to her. I think the biggest thing, too, is that she reeks of confidence right now.”

For good reason. A year after averaging 7.5 points and 6.8 rebounds, Powell has taken her game to a higher level.

She leads the Lady Rebels (15-9, 10-3 Mountain West) with 16.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, with 11 double-doubles. She has started 19 of 20 games after missing Wednesday’s at Air Force with an ankle injury. She’s expected back for Saturday’s 3 p.m. conference game against San Diego State (10-13, 4-8) at Cox Pavilion.

In conference games, she’s second in the MW in scoring (18.6) and third in rebounding (9.0), numbers that have put her in the conversation for league Player of the Year.

“In the summer, if you were to tell me I’d be averaging 18 points and almost 10 rebounds, I’d be like ‘What? That’s crazy,’ ” Powell said. “But my goal was to average a double-double, so 10 and 10 was good enough for me.”

Powell credits part of the improvement to her summer conditioning program. There also were the late-night shooting sessions with point guard Nikki Wheatley. And the Lady Rebels have been playing a less guard-heavy game and involving their posts more this season.

Olivier said the team needed to improve its field-goal percentage by taking better shots, which has led to more opportunities for Powell.

“She knows she’s going to get the ball this year,” Wheatley said. “I maybe think last year she was frustrated when there would be multiple possessions that went by where she didn’t get enough touches, and that was just all the guards doing a bad job of not getting our posts the ball enough.”

Added Olivier: “You can tell that we’re moving the ball better, which is just better for any post player.”

The success has given the Lady Rebels a more confident player as they chase the Mountain West title. They are tied for first with Wyoming.

“She has an air about her,” Olivier said. “She comes from a very gifted basketball family. She’s been around basketball her whole life. She has a high basketball IQ. We always knew she could be talented. Was she going to put in that time and effort? She’s done that, and it’s showed.”

Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.