For an athlete, that usually means lots of practice.

For Portland Fire guard Jackie Stiles, however, it means taking familiarity literally.

Practice had just ended at the Rose Garden on June 21, a day before the team played host to the Charlotte Sting, and Stiles was looking to get in some extra work.

In the first seven games of the season, she averaged 12.1 points and shot 35 percent from the field. Stiles also was coming off a game in which she scored a season-low four points.

She got on the court and was soon joined by P.J. Stiles, her younger brother; Carly Deer, her roommate and teammate for four years at Southwest Missouri State; and Ty Bills, another friend from college.

They had come to Portland to visit Stiles, but on this afternoon they might as well have been in a gym in Springfield, Mo., or her hometown of Claflin, Kan.

It was a familiar situation for Stiles: They were on the court rebounding her shots and helping her through other assorted drills.

"Old habit," Stiles said.

Whatever it was, it has led to Stiles' most productive stretch of her rookie season in the WNBA.

"I was actually giving them a bad time about it," Stiles said of her friends and brother. "We played some one-on-one and I told them after the game, 'You guys gave me confidence.' "

Stiles has averaged 21 points and shot 51 percent from the field in the last five games, heading into today's game against the Houston Comets, the finale of a five-game trip.

"It was really weird how that happened," Stiles said. "I don't know if I became more relaxed or what. I think I changed my mentality and decided to be more aggressive."

The streak started with 24 points in an overtime victory in the game against Charlotte. After scoring 17 and 22 points in losses to Houston and Cleveland, respectively, Stiles scored a season-high 26 points in a victory over Indiana. She followed that with 16 points in Friday's win over Miami.

"She's really developed a confidence that she can play at this level," Fire coach Linda Hargrove said. "And that takes the pressure off of her because now when she steps onto the floor, she has the confidence to compete."

Hargrove has reminded anyone who would listen that Stiles is a rookie and is expected to have an up-and-down season while adjusting to professional basketball.

Case in point: Stiles appeared to break through in an overtime victory at Sacramento on June 16, when she scored 10 consecutive points spanning the end of regulation and the start of overtime. Stiles finished with 21 points in an 81-74 victory over the Monarchs.

In Los Angeles the next night, however, she scored 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting in a 90-75 loss to the Sparks.

"Awful," Stiles said. "Worst game ever."

"I learned a lesson going through that first back-to-back," she said. "There's no way to simulate it until you actually go through it. Part of it was just needing to become more mentally tough and not even worry about being tired."

Apparently, it was a lesson well learned as the Fire again faced back-to-back games last week -- against Cleveland and Indiana. After making eight of 17 shots from the field against the Rockers, Stiles followed with 10-of-12 shooting and the game-winning free throws against the Fever.

No letdown this time.

Just familiarity.

"But I'm definitely nowhere near satisfied," Stiles said. "I want to get so much better."