KATY, Texas — McNeese State fans traveling here this week’s for the Southland Conference tournament may want to get a good look at the No. 21 on senior forward Kendra Wells’ jersey. With what Wells has done for the program in the last four years, there’s a chance they might not see another Cowgirl player ever wearing those digits.

The Port Allen native became only the second player in program history with 1,000 career points and rebounds in Saturday’s 59-40 win at Lamar, and will look to keep those totals running for at least four more games as the Cowgirls (23-7, 13-3 Southland) attempt to win their second straight tournament championship.

No. 2 seed McNeese opens the tourney at noon today against No. 7 Southeastern Louisiana (12-17, 7-9) at the Merrell Center in Katy. The Cowgirls defeated the Lions 68-53 at Burton Coliseum last Wednesday.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence. We’ve got our fight back,” said Cowgirls coach Brooks Donald Williams. “We’ve got that something we were missing in the middle of the season. We’ve got some hunger too. I think the kids are ready to get back to Katy and just play our game. We’re just ready to rock and roll.”

If the Cowgirls were an actual rock and roll outfit, Wells might be the bassist — generally not the center of attention, but providing a steady consistency that keeps things grooving.

Wells is just an eyelash short of averaging a double-double this season with 9.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. She has picked up the rebounding portion of things in the conference season, averaging 11.4 boards per game against conference opponents.

“She is just playing with a fierce competitiveness along the boards,” Donald Williams said. “When Kitty came here four years ago, she wanted to play out on the perimeter and we needed her to play inside. She’s just taken great advantage of it because she’s a mismatch and she can get a lot of rebounds out of her area that other kids can’t get. She’s getting them with a lot of toughness and a lot of force. I could go on for days.”

Versatility has been part of Wells’ game her whole career.

When the Baggett twins spent the 2009-10 season away from the game, Wells frequently had to play as a guard and do the bulk of McNeese’s scoring. Even so, she managed to pull in an average of 7.9 boards per game.

“She’s had to wear so many hats and play so many different positions. Through all that, she always did one thing: rebound,” Donald Williams said. “And she can score too. To do something only one other person in McNeese history has done — I just think Kitty is a phenomenal player. She’s very underrated. She’s been very special to us and continuing to be very special to us going into the tournament.”

The fact Wells was named to the all-conference third team seems to underscore Donald Williams’ point about her being underrated.

Wells herself seems more concerned about her legacy in helping build McNeese from also-ran to consecutive 20-win seasons — and with three more wins, back-to-back champions.

“(Winning 23 games shows) it wasn’t just something that happened last year,” Wells said. “We’re here and we’re going to be recognized. We’re starting a tradition in this program.”

McNeese State senior forward Kendra Wells. (AMERICAN PRESS)