As a pass intended for Niagara guard Jennifer Nelson skidded down the Rec Hall floor, Katina Mack came up with just a little more speed.

Even though Nelson -- a fast player in her own right -- had about an eight-foot lead, Mack took off after the ball and beat Nelson to the prize. She dribbled a few times, passed to Jenny Kretchmar who passed the ball right back, and scored an easy layup.

Nelson certainly was impressed.

"She's a good player, she's going to be real good by the time she's a senior," Nelson said. "I respect her a lot."

This burst of speed wasn't uncommon for Mack though. Coach Rene Portland has seen it in practice often enough.

"We've been working on a drill this week that the kids absolutely hate where the coaches throw the ball as far as they can down the court and they have to save it and score a layup," Portland laughed. "When she did that tonight, everybody turned around and said 'Rene, that's your drill.' "

That 20-yard dash was just one of the highlights of Mack's 24-minute show during last night's 116-48 win over Niagara.

Against the Lady Eagles, the freshman scored 14 points, tying a career high, on 6-of-7 shooting and dished a career-high eight assists.

Coming into this recent homestand, Portland planned to give Mack a lot of extra minutes but her concern was Mack's conditioning.

"Our question to her in her individual meetings was, 'Could you play 20 minutes for us?' and the answer was 'No,' " Portland said."I think she's been giving that a concerted effort and we've seen an improvement in that area."

Mack was aware of her conditioning difficulties and knew she needed to work on that.

"Right now, I'm getting myself into shape," said Mack, who to the average fan is far from heavy. "I'm becoming more comfortable with my weight and I feel much better on the court -- running up and down that court. If she needs me for 20 minutes, I can last for 20 minutes. If she needs me for 40 minutes, I can last for that 40 minutes."

This game also provided a lot of playing time for Mack at the point guard position. Because Carla Coleman fills the shooting guard spot, Mack must play the point on the pressing team which Portland uses frequently.

When Mack is playing without Coleman, she reverts back to a shooter. The transition hasn't been easy but it's one that games like this will speed up.

"When I got here I was pretty uncomfortable with it even though I played point in high school," Mack said. "As time goes on, (Portland) is putting me at point guard in practice. I'm becoming more comfortable with the ball and calling out plays -- running them."

And lately, Mack is loving every minute of her time at the point. In two games this weekend, she scored five points against DePaul and 10 points against Illinois.

"I like running point," Mack said with a big smile. "It puts you in charge. You've got to be the one who calms everything down and gets everyone back in sync so I like it."