LAS VEGAS - (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV junior forward/center Rodjanae Wade became the first Lady Rebel to be voted the Mountain West Women's Basketball 6th Player of the Year, while senior center Katie Powell was named to the MW All-Conference team, the league announced Sunday. In addition, senior guard Nikki Wheatley was Honorable Mention All-Mountain West and sophomore guard Bailey Thomas was selected to the five-member MW All-Defensive Team. 
  Wade, a native of Fresno, California, had a breakout year for the Lady Rebels posting career-highs of 8.5 points and 6.2 rebounds in MW play, both of which easily led all bench players in the conference. She also ranked third for UNLV in scoring in league play, while her rebound average was tops on the team and 10th overall in the MW. Her field goal percentage of 47.5% also paced the Lady Rebels and was eighth-best in MW games, while she was one of the top offensive rebounders in the league, just one rebound away from tying for the MW lead as she posted 3.6 per game. She notched two double-doubles in MW play and recorded three double-figure games in both scoring and rebounding. She had a career-best game against San Jose State, posting 20 points and 14 rebounds in a 74-70 win over the Spartans on Feb. 16. 



Powell, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, is the first Lady Rebel to be named all-conference in back-to-back years since Kelli Thompson in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Powell ranked in the top 10 of the league for the majority of the season in both scoring and rebounding. The final week she played limited minutes following an ankle injury but still finished 13th in the MW in scoring with 12.8 ppg, and was 12th in rebounding with 5.9 rpg. Powell was the top free throw shooter on the squad at 72.1% (15th in the MW), and also led the team in blocks with 0.9, which tied her for 11th overall. Her defensive presence in the paint helped the Lady Rebels lead the league in rebounding margin once again at +6.5, well over three rebounds higher than the next best team. Powell recorded 12 double-figure scoring games in MW play along with four double-figure rebounding games, and added a team-high three double-doubles as well. She currently has 1,005 points in her three years at UNLV, which is tied for 26th all-time and 15 points behind 25th place.



Wheatley, a native of La Verne, California, led the Lady Rebels' effort from the backcourt on both ends of the court, and finished just behind Powell in scoring with 12.7 points per game, which tied her for 14th in league action. Wheatley hit the boards as well, with a 4.8 rpg average to place 16th, while she shot a career-best 45.4% from the floor, which was 11th-best in the MW.  She scored a career-high 28 points in UNLV's 66-57 upset win over New Mexico on Jan. 9 that earned her MW Player of the Week honors, and would score in double-figures in 10 of 18 contests. She currently ranks 15th all-time in scoring at UNLV as well with 1,331 points, just 21 away from reaching 14th place.



Thomas, a native of Las Vegas, is ending her first year in a UNLV jersey after playing her freshman season at West Virginia in 2016-17. She entered the Lady Rebel starting lineup in a game at Duke in December and never left as she became the team's designated defensive stopper, and was personally responsible for shutting down several of the top scoring guards in the conference. Her defensive pressure on the ball was a big key in the Lady Rebels becoming the only team in the conference to rank in the top two in both team defensive categories, as UNLV was second in both scoring defense (60.2 ppg) and in field goal percentage defense (38.4%) during MW play. She also added 3.4 points per game for the Lady Rebels, and led the team in three-point percentage at 40% (14-of-35).



The Lady Rebels ended the regular season at 12-17 and finished in a tie for fifth place in the conference standings with Utah State at 10-8. UNLV is one of only two teams in the Mountain West to have reached double-figure wins in each of the past three seasons, along with top-seed Boise State.

As the fifth seed in the 2019 MW Championships, UNLV opens play in the quarterfinals on Monday at 2:30 pm against fourth-seed Fresno State in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

2018-19 All-Mountain West Honors

Player of the Year: Jaisa Nunn, New Mexico
Defensive Player of the Year: Bailee Cotton, Wyoming
Newcomer of the Year: Aisia Robertson, New Mexico
Freshman of the Year: Jayla Everett, New Mexico
Sixth Player of the Year: Rodjanae Wade, UNLV
Coach of the Year: Gordy Presnell, Boise State

All-Conference Team
Braydey Hodgins, Jr., Boise State
Riley Lupfer, Jr., Boise State
Candice White, Sr., Fresno State
Jade Redmon, Sr., UNR
Jaisa Nunn, Sr., New Mexico
Aisia Robertson, Jr., New Mexico
Katie Powell, Sr., UNLV
Shannon Dufficy, Jr., Utah State
Bailee Cotton, Sr., Wyoming
Marta Gomez, Sr., Wyoming

All-Conference Honorable Mention
Maddi Utti, So., Fresno State
Terae Briggs, Sr., UNR
Jayla Everett, Fr., New Mexico
Mallory Adams. Fr., San Diego State
Nikki Wheatley, Sr., UNLV

All-Defensive Team
Maddi Utti, So., Fresno State
Bailey Thomas, So., UNLV
Nike McClure, Sr., New Mexico
Aisia Robertson, Jr., New Mexico
Bailee Cotton, Sr., Wyoming

All-Freshman Team
Riley Snyder, Air Force
Jayla Everett, New Mexico
Mallory Adams, San Diego State
Sophia Ramos, San Diego State
Karla Erjavec, Wyoming