5-foot-9 Fayetteville State basketball guard London Thompson leads the CIAA in rebounding
Fayetteville State junior guard London Thompson isn’t usually the one putting up the shots for the Broncos this season.
But when the shots go up, she’s maneuvering into position to rebound, ready to time her jump to reach the ball at her highest point and pull down a possession.
It’s an art of effort. And Thompson learned all about that growing up in Lumberton with her grandmother Glenda Ann, whose name winds through the long stem of a rose tattoo on the guard’s left leg.
“I have to go get it,” Thompson said after the Broncos defeated Virginia Union 60-47 in Capel Arena on Tuesday night.
“I can’t let one game go by without getting at least six rebounds.”
She’s averaging a CIAA-best 8.0 boards per game despite playing through a shoulder injury.
“Because of my shoulder, I can’t really do much on offense, so I make up for it with defense and rebounding,” she said.
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Thompson, who transferred to FSU after going to NC Central out of high school, is a leader on coach Serena King-Coleman’s young squad.
“I rely on her,” King-Coleman said. “She always leads by example.
“She’s been on a championship team and she understands what we need.”
Thompson had 17 rebounds in the Broncos’ CIAA championship victory over Bowie State in 2020, and she averaged 13.3 throughout the tournament.
She and senior Danica Lucas are the only current FSU player remaining from that title-winning team.
These Broncos are a mix of transfer students and young players who had just started to find a rhythm when COVID-19 protocols postponed or canceled four games. From Dec. 20-Jan. 15, FSU played just one game.
“It’s been tough because this is usually our time of growth in terms of pinning down those little things, really understanding the plays, really understanding mismatches, and when you don’t have that time in the gym, it really affects you, especially with us having as many new people as we have this year. We don’t have a lot of veteran players,” King-Coleman said.
“It’s about them believing and building their confidence. As long as they continue to grow confidence-wise and start finding a rhythm with each other on the court, we’ll be fine.
“They’ve recommitted and made a decision to play together and be a team and you saw the results of that on the court tonight.”
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In the win over Virginia Union (4-9, 2-5) on Tuesday, Fayetteville State (7-8, 4-3) held a 38-8 scoring advantage in the paint and scored 23 points off turnovers while holding the Panthers to just one fast-break basket and three second-chance points.
Sophomore Charisma Barner sparked the Broncos’ post play with a career-high 14 points.
“All I could hear in my mind was, ‘Go get the ball,'” she said. “I was very confident in helping my teammates and talking to them on defense.”
Aniylah Bryant came off the bench to drop a game-high 15 points to go with four steals.
Terry Sanford alum Imani Elliott also got into double figures with 11 points and a solid game leading the offense, often driving, drawing defenders and then dishing to open teammates or finding her way to the foul line through contact.
Rasheka Simmons and Keayna McLaughlin also played well for FSU.
“We had 14 assists, which shows me they’re playing as a team,” King-Coleman said.
The Broncos’ three league losses have all been by six or fewer points, and they’re in position to make a run down the stretch.
“They have decided they’re ready to commit,” King-Coleman said.
“It’s tough to let go and trust another teammate, but that’s where we are now. You’re starting to see those extra passes and you’re starting to see those finishes and the game looks easier.”
Sports editor Monica Holland can be reached at mholland@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville State women's basketball has CIAA's top rebounder
