No. 2: Be the leader in bringing the ball up the floor against the Rams’ hyper pressure.
Thompson, a 6-foot junior, handled both assignments well. Her third role, however, was not prescribed by co-head coaches Chris Hart and Kendal Peck. But No. 3 was the charm: 19 points, three 3-pointers and 13 of the Knights’ first 27 points to spark them to a 63-47 victory.
The Knights (11-1, 6-0) took over first place in the league, dropping Badin to 10-2, 5-1.
Thompson averages 7.4 points a game, is fourth on the team in scoring and had no inkling that she would produce a career high in points. Alter isn’t built to feature a big scorer, and when there is one, it always seems to be someone different.
“Warmups could go good or it could go bad, but that doesn’t really matter in the game,” Thompson said. “Honestly, just let it fly and see what happens.”
Thompson wasn’t a starter on the Knights’ Division II state championship team last year, but she did score in double figures five times, including 16 in an early-season game at Badin. She scored in double figures for the second time this season Friday following 17 on Wednesday.
“We asked Elena to guard Badin’s best player, so we really didn’t give her any kind of relief on either end of the floor,” Hart said. “We expected a lot out of her tonight and I thought she stepped up.”
Even led the Rams with 20 points, making an array of scoop shots, and sparked an early fourth-quarter run that cut a once sizable Alter lead to 46-41 with 6:15 to play. But Alter responded with a 17-6 closing run.
Thompson’s strategy was to give Even, who attacks the basket well, a little extra room to keep her from getting to the basket every time she tried.
“I feel like it did pretty well stopping the ball, but she’s a good player,” Thompson said. “She has some moves, especially under the bucket.”
Hart was glad to see Even have to pass the ball out of the lane so often.
“Elena did a good job — that kid is an incredible talent,” Hart said of Even. “She’s going to be a nightmare for the next three and a half years.”
While Alter has a size advantage on Badin with three 6-1 post players — Maddie Moody, Mekhia Shipp, Da’Shai Shepard — the Rams are plenty quick and used that advantage to press and trap the Knights all over the floor. And while the Knights committed more turnovers than usual, Thompson, backcourt mate Hannah Mayse and Moody handled the pressure more than well enough.
“Honestly getting out of the trap was kind of fun,” Thompson said. “You felt accomplished when you got through it.”
Even thought her team, which trailed 33-23 at halftime, didn’t play like it should until the second half.
“The first half killed us,” she said. “We had no enthusiasm. Every time we missed a shot our head was down and we weren’t really playing confident with the ball either. Their defense kind of startled us.”
The Rams played without sophomore guard and second-leading scorer Ashley Pate for the first time. She transferred from Lakota West and can’t play the second half of the season because of the OHSAA transfer rule.
“We’re losing some points with her and a three-point option,” Even said. “We just need people to step up, and I need to shoot more to help with that.”
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