St. Joe's Product Natasha Cloud Thriving in WNBA

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- You don't have to talk to Natasha Cloud for very long to realize just how much she is enjoying life these days.

The Cardinal O'Hara High School product, who was a star at St. Joseph's University, is in the midst of her third season in the WNBA with the Washington Mystics and relishing every minute of it.

"It's just a blessing to be able to play basketball for my career and to do what I love for a job," Cloud recently told KYW Newsradio. "It's been an amazing journey and it continues to be and I'm just extremely blessed and humbled to be where I'm at."

Cloud was a second-round draft pick of the Mystics in 2015. She was a starter for most of her first two seasons in the league. This season she has come off the bench exclusively, but hasn't missed a beat, averaging 4.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 18.1 minutes a game, helping Washington to a 10-8 record.

"I've kind of fit into this role of coming off the bench a little bit easier than what I thought," Cloud says. "I had been starting the previous two years, but acquiring a point guard of Kristi Toliver's caliber, I kind of figured it was coming. This year, I'm kind of the utility player for us. I'm playing the one through three positions (point guard, shooting guard, small forward), so if anything, coming off the bench has helped me in the sense that it takes a little pressure off of me. It allows me to just go in and play and do what I need to do for the team. I'm just here to do my role and whatever that is, I'll do for the team."

Cloud actually started her college career at Maryland before transferring to St. Joe's. She thrived with the Hawks, earning A-10 Defensive Player of the year honors as a junior and being named first-team All-Atlantic 10 as a senior. She was named first-team All-Big Five as a junior and a senior.

"I still talk to a bunch of my (St. Joe's) teammates," Cloud says. "I still go back and I work out with (men's assistant coach) Geoff Arnold and a bunch of the men's coaches.

"Hawk Hill will be always be family."

Cloud and the Mystics return to action on Friday with a game in Indiana against the Fever.