WASHINGTON D.C. – Three months after becoming one of the rare women’s players to enter the WNBA draft early, Jewell Loyd is still growing up – and into her game.

Loyd, who was the top draft pick after leading Notre Dame to the national title game in the 2014-15 season, said that with half a season under her belt, she’s finally becoming a bit more comfortable on the professional stage as a rookie on the Seattle Storm.

“I got to give her a lot of credit because the beginning of the season obviously didn’t start the way she would’ve dreamed it to start,” Storm veteran Sue Bird said. “But she’s really done a great job of never putting her head down, just staying with the process, and waiting for things to turn around and they really have.”

Like many rookies, the 21-year-old was slow to start this season, but now she’s beginning to blossom and show sparks of the player her teammates expect her to quickly become. After scoring in double figures just once through her first eight games, Loyd has scored at least ten points in six of her last 11 games.

(Sy Bean/The Seattle Times via AP)

“Just getting more aggressive and having more confidence in myself,” Loyd said of her recent surge. “When you have great teammates who make it easier, find you in the open lanes, and tell you to keep shooting, it makes it a lot easier to make things happen.”

Despite her growing confidence, in Wednesday’s loss to the Mystics, Loyd scored just four points, going 2 of 7 from the floor though she grabbed six rebounds.

“I think I started the game off aggressive definitely trying to create stuff,” said Loyd, who led the Storm in minutes played in Wednesday’s game.

“Everything is new for her so you see some ups-and-downs like you do with most rookies,” Storm coach Jenny Boucek added. “She continues to show glimpses of who she’s going to be.”

When Loyd decided to forego her senior season at Notre Dame and declare for the WNBA Draft, Fighting Irish coach Muffet McGraw seemed surprised, saying she was “incredibly disappointed” by the decision. Loyd later wrote in the Players Tribune that she “will absolutely get [her] degree from Notre Dame and look[s] forward to the day [she] can hang it on [her] wall.”

“I had to figure out what’s best for me,” she added on Wednesday. “For me, it was a good decision.”

Loyd – who qualified for the draft because she turns 22 (Oct. 5) in the same calendar year as the draft- said she still keeps in touch with her Notre Dame teammates.

“Every once in a while Coach McGraw will text me but I’m really close with a lot of the players so we stay in touch,” she said.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Now on a bigger stage, she credited Seattles’ veterans, particularly Bird, as making the transition from college to professional basketball smoother than expected.

“I know we have the best vets in the league by far,” Loyd said. “Playing with Sue Bird is something anyone wishes they could do.”

“She’s really starting to figure out her game and how it fits into our team,” Bird added of her protégé. “She’s always been really kind of wide eyed and very eager to learn.”

As Loyd continues to ride the wave of a rookie season in the WNBA, the former All-American is taking things one day at a time while she continues to improve on the court and enjoy the fruits of being a professional basketball player.

“Every day I just want to get better and improve and just have fun while I’m doing it.”