Baylor senior guard/forward Aijha Blackwell, who missed the past month after suffering a lower leg injury, returned to the court for the No. 18 Bears in a 93-27 blowout win against Tennessee State on Thursday.
Blackwell transferred to Baylor after playing her first three seasons at Missouri, averaging 13.0 rebounds per game -- No. 2 in the nation -- as a junior. The two-time All-SEC second-team selection has averaged at least 14.5 points per game each season of her collegiate career.
Playing on a minutes restriction, Blackwell finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench during the first half Thursday.
"It was really fun," Blackwell told reporters postgame. "I don't really step on the floor anxious, but I was a little anxious, and I think just that feeling of the crowd getting lit and then my teammates. Obviously, it was a good feeling."
After she suffered the injury on Nov. 15, it wasn't publicly clear how long Blackwell would be out -- or if she would return at all this season.
"I don't even know how to explain it. It was frustrating for sure," Blackwell said. "But my teammates and my coaches were very supportive, so I didn't really feel isolated from the team or anything like that. It was frustrating because I've never had an injury like this, but it was good to be back."
Baylor head coach Nicki Collen was pleased with Blackwell's performance in her first game back.
"The thing you always watch for with players returning from any kind of knee injury is, are they uncomfortable in a crowd? Will they leave their feet? That's usually what you see if you see someone being timid," Collen said. "I thought she got in and she rebounded right away. She attacked the basket. She took her time around the rim. So that was the best part.
"It's baby steps, but it was a good baby step today for her."
Baylor will have Blackwell available for its upcoming top-25 showdown against No. 20 Arizona as part of the Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2). Collen said they'll up Blackwell's "mileage" over the next two days of practice so "ideally" she can play closer to 20-plus minutes against the Wildcats.
"But we're really taking it day by day," Collen said. "We want to be careful because March basketball is going to be more important to us than December basketball."
The Bears' two losses this season -- both without Blackwell -- came at the hands of No. 19 Maryland and No. 22 Michigan. The Bears did manage to beat No. 23 Villanova in November.