Smith eyes MWC title for Lady Rebels basketball

When Jamie Smith joined the UNLV women's basketball team in 2008, she did so with the expectation that the Lady Rebels would win a Mountain West Conference championship by the time her collegiate career was over.

The 6-foot forward begins her senior season Saturday, and she's still looking for that elusive conference title.

"The championship has always been such a big thing for me," said Smith, whose team opens against Butler on Saturday in the Iowa Hawkeye Challenge in Iowa City. "In the past, we've had the talent, but we just haven't really connected. But the big picture looks good this year. I've never felt like we've had this type of team."

Smith, a native of Kailua, Hawaii, was the first recruit landed by then first-year coach Kathy Olivier. She was touted as a blue-chip player around which Olivier could rebuild the struggling program.

Though that plan never has come to fruition, Smith continues to believe that things are headed in the right direction.

"I won't accept anything less than an MWC championship this year," Smith said, despite UNLV coming off an 11-20 season in 2010-11. "Nothing can really deny us. I really believe this is the year."

As the Lady Rebels take the court Saturday, there will be no secret about who's in charge. Mountain West coaches made that clear recently when they named Smith to the preseason all-conference team.

But the same coaches were not so sure another strong season by Smith would be enough to lift UNLV to the top. The Lady Rebels were picked to finish fifth in the nine-team conference, a prediction Olivier thinks might be an underestimation.

"When I heard we were picked fifth, my first reaction was that it was really pretty insulting," said Olivier, whose squad finished eighth in the MWC last year at 4-12. "We have so many starting returners. But the preseason poll really means nothing. It's the postseason poll that matters."

Smith, who led the conference in rebounding during her freshman and sophomore seasons, agreed.

"I really don't look at those polls," said Smith, who averaged 7.6 points and 8.1 rebounds last year. "They don't mean anything. We've just got to go out and prove ourselves."

Olivier said there was one thing she appreciated about the poll.

"I think it lit a fire under our seniors," she said.

Indeed, Smith is not the team's only key senior.

Forward Sandrine Nzeukou (6.4 points, 6.2 rebounds) and center Markiell Styles (5.6 points, 4.9 rebounds) also are back. Both players looked strong in the Lady Rebels' 74-57 exhibition victory over Notre Dame de Namur at Cox Pavilion on Monday, with Nzeukou pulling down 13 rebounds to go with seven points, and Styles leading the team in scoring with 13 points and adding seven rebounds.

The return of 6-3 center Lenita Sanford also is expected to be a key. The highly regarded post player was suspended for academic reasons after 11 games last season, but rejoined the team in time Monday to post seven points and five rebounds in the exhibition win.

Two juniors could figure even more heavily into the team's success, as Kelli Thompson returns from a season in which she easily led the team with an average of 14.1 points per game. Durango High product Mia Bell, who averaged 4.8 points and 3.8 assists last year, also figures to provide leadership on the floor.

Even the freshmen appear strong, as Danielle Miller and Alana Cesarz came off the bench to post quality minutes in Monday's exhibition game. Miller, a guard from San Diego, scored 10 points in 16 minutes. Cesarz, a forward out of Delavan, Wis., had four points in 17 minutes.

Smith agreed, insisting that a 2011-12 championship would make her long wait worthwhile.

"Better late than never," she said. "I will never regret coming to UNLV."

The Lady Rebels will open their home schedule against UC Riverside at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Cox Pavilion.