Nicole Powell

Nicole Kristen Powell (born June 22, 1982) is an American basketball coach who was the head women's basketball coach at University of California, Riverside. As a player, she had a standout collegiate career at Stanford University, Powell had an 11-year WNBA career most notably with the Sacramento Monarchs where she was an All-Star and won a WNBA Championship. Powell also played professionally overseas for Fenerbahçe Istanbul. Powell had previously served on the coaching staffs at Gonzaga, Oregon, and Grand Canyon before being named the head coach of UC Riverside in March 2020.

Early life Born in Sierra Vista, Arizona, Powell played for Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix, where she was named a WBCA All-American. She also was named a 2000 Parade Magazine First Team All-American in 2000 and the Arizona Player of the Century by the Arizona Republic. She participated in the 2000 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored fourteen points. Powell and Ionescu are also the only NCAA Division I women's players to have recorded multiple triple-doubles in the NCAA tournament; Powell had two consecutive triple-doubles in 2002, while Ionescu had one each in 2018 and 2019.

Coaching Powell spent one season, 2013–14, at Gonzaga as an assistant coach for coach Kelly Graves. After Graves accepted the head coaching position for the University of Oregon, Powell took the assistant coach position at Oregon for three years. The 2016–2017 season was the most successful under Powell's assistant coaching career; it included a top-five recruiting class in 2016, headlined by Ionescu; a run to the Elite 8 in the 2017 NCAA Tournament; winning 6 out of 23 games against Top 25 opponents; and finishing the season at #16.

In April 2017, Powell accepted the head coaching position at Grand Canyon University.

WNBA career Powell was picked No. 3 overall by the Charlotte Sting in the 2004 WNBA draft. She was used by the Sting as a utility player, appearing in 31 games.

On March 3, 2005, she was traded to the Sacramento Monarchs in a multi-player deal. The trade greatly aided the Monarchs in the 2005 season while Powell enjoyed a breakout year and eventually was named the recipient of that year's WNBA's Most Improved Player award. She played a pivotal role in the Monarchs' 2005 WNBA Finals victory over the Connecticut Sun. Although the Monarchs struggled in subsequent years, Powell's statistics continued to improve. In 2009, with several of her teammates hobbled by injuries, Powell averaged 16.7 points per game and was the best free throw shooter in the WNBA with 97.9% of attempts made. She also participated in the 2009 WNBA All-Star Game, where she scored 21 points off the bench. The Monarchs ceased operations following their 2009 season. The New York Liberty selected Powell with the first pick in the 2010 dispersal draft.

She was traded to the Tulsa Shock before the 2013 season and signed with the Seattle Storm before the 2014 season.

WNBA career statistics

†Denotes season(s) in which Powell won a WNBA championship

Regular season

Playoffs

USA Basketball Powell was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Mar Del Plata, Argentina. The event was held in July 2000, when the USA team defeated Cuba to win the championship. Powell averaged 8.2 points per game and led the team in rebounding with 6.4 per game. postseason = Postseason cancelled due to COVID-19