DENVER – If you didn't see it, can you imagine what it must have looked like to witness Tosjanae Bonds play high school basketball?
 
As a senior, she led the state in scoring at 24.9 points per game. She also averaged 7.7 rebounds and 9.0 steals for the Far Northeast Warriors.
 
She's the all-time leader in Colorado high school history with 631 career steals, including a state-record 21 in one game to break her previous state record of 20.
 
Triple double? How about the quadruple double (40 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals) that she had her senior season?
 
That kind of prolific production is unheard of at the college level, of course.
 
"Some of the teams we played just didn't prepare me for college because it was so easy," Bonds said. "I could just steal the ball and get layups. I'd have to work for things, but here you have to work a lot harder."
 
Bonds are her teammates are planning on some hard work in the next week, as they play three home games in six days – Saturday at 2 p.m. against Western Colorado, Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. against Colorado Christian, and Thursday, Dec. 17, against South Dakota Mines – at the Auraria Event Center.
 
Bonds has been off to a modest start – as expected – through her first three collegiate games. She's averaged 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds and – as of yet – doesn't have a steal. She's averaging 14.3 minutes per game off the bench and scored a career-best eight points in the Roadrunners' last game, a road loss to No. 24 Colorado Mesa.
 
"She was able to rely on her athleticism in high school," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "And all freshmen come to the realization that things they did in high school, they aren't able to get away with in college. But she's very reflective, very thoughtful. She asks really great questions. She comes in and gets extra help. She's been really good at adjusting and adapting and being persistent."

And yes, Haave expects that at some point in her career, Bonds will be a disruptive defensive force like she was in high school.
 
"I can see her getting, two, three, four steals a game at some point," Haave said. "She's working on understanding positioning and what good team defense is. And it's not always getting steals. Sometimes it's just shutting someone down and not letting them score, forcing them to take a bad shot or just denying them the ball in the first place."
 
Bonds, whose brother Aaris plays at Division I Chicago State, knew there would be an adjustment to college basketball.
 
"It's been a little hard for me and a little frustrating, but I'm adjusting," she said. "I'm adjusting to coming off the bench. But it's a great thing because, with my nerves, I'm seeing other people play before I get in. Sitting on the bench isn't always a bad thing. I can see what people are doing and, when I come in, I can try to do my best based on what I've seen."
 
Bonds said the Roadrunners will make some adjustments heading into the games this weekend.
 
"We've taken our losses in mind, but not to our hearts," she said. "We have to make sure we don't turn the ball over as much. I think we're going to be ready. I think we're going to do a great job."
 
Western Colorado is 2-0 and was picked to finished second in the RMAC, just behind Colorado Mesa. Colorado Christian is 0-1 and picked 11^th, while South Dakota Mines is 0-2 after being predicted to place sixth.
 
After the South Dakota Mines game, MSU Denver has two weeks off before its next contest, so the next week is an opportunity to build some momentum heading into the break.
 
"We're playing the best teams in our conference, and we're trying to get through that gauntlet," Haave said. "We adjust and move on, find solutions and stay together. We just want to try to keep getting a little better each game and see where the chips fall."