Thompson posts Clara Stevens, Brenna Martin spark region quarterfinal win
Feb. 20—GRAND FORKS — Thompson's top four leading scorers entering the North Dakota Region 2 girls basketball tournament were all guards.
The Tommies' top four scoring averages belong to heights of 5-foot-3, 5-6, 5-4 and 5-4.
On Monday in the region quarterfinals, No. 1 seed Thompson proved the Tommies have plenty of post talent, too.
Clara Stevens, a 5-10 senior, and Brenna Martin, a 6-0 junior, combined to score 31 points as Thompson beat Hillsboro-Central Valley 71-21 at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
Stevens scored a game-high 17 points, while Martin chipped in 14.
Thompson, 20-2, advances to face the winner of Cavalier and Hatton-Northwood at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the region semifinals.
"It really helps to not have one person everyone looks to to do certain things," said Stevens, the daughter of UND men's basketball assistant coach Jamie Stevens. "We all work hard and to all be able to be a good team, rather than a one-person team, makes such a difference. You can see it in the way we play. No one is above anyone else."
The Tommies used a height advantage against the Burros, who don't have a player on the roster taller than 5-9 and no upperclassman taller than 5-7.
Stevens and Martin each had 10 first-half points as the Tommies pulled away by shutting out the Burros in the second quarter.
"It's nice to have that balance because it's both our inside game and outside game," Thompson coach Jason Brend said.
Hillsboro-Central Valley's Sadie Gallagher hit a 3-pointer with 2:10 left in the first quarter to trim Thompson's lead to 14-6.
The Burros would go the next 11 minutes of the game without a point spanning the final two minutes of the first quarter, the entire second quarter and the first minute of the third quarter.
By then, a Stevens free throw extended the lead all the way to 50-6.
Stevens entered the game averaging about 8.0 points per game.
"She's really elevated her game, especially the last third of the season," Brend said. "Lately, she's really way more aggressive and done a great job both on defense and getting inside in the paint."
After Stevens and Martin, Thompson was led by Addison Sage and Kya Hurst. Sage and Hurst, both freshman, scored 12 points.
Thompson 71,
Hillsboro-CV 21
Halftime: Thompson 47, HCV 6
Hillsboro-Central Valley — Sadie Gallagher 7, Addison Saure 3, Megan Ensign 1, Kennedy Olsen 1, Elisa Jennen 7, KC Sauvageau 2
Thompson — Olivia Dick 7, Sydney Schwabe 5, Jordan Tozer 2, Addison Sage 12, Clara Stevens 17, Andie Schwab 1, Kya Hurst 12, Jailin Avdem 1, Brenna Martin 14
