Redshirt-junior forward Natasha Thames appears to be getting more comfortable with each game following her season-ending knee injury last season.

Coach Tonya Cardoza limited her only other big man outside of senior center Victoria Macaulay to 16, 27 and 22 minutes in the team’s first three games, respectively. Since then she’s averaged 36.4 minutes per game. Her lowest total was 28 against Bowling Green when she left early with a concussion, causing her to miss the next game.

In her last three starts Thames has shot 57.1 percent from the field, compared to 39.3 percent in her previous five starts. In that same span she’s averaging 9.33 points compared to five points to start the season.

Only her rebounding has been consistent, as she’s averaged seven per contest with only one double-digit rebound performance thus far.

As she gets more comfortable expect both her scoring and rebounding to improve further.

-Jake Adams