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Thompson was able to start the 2018-19 girls basketball season with a 55-21 win against county foe Montevallo on Tuesday, Nov. 13. (Reporter photo/Keith McCoy)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

ALABASTER – With the ability of head coach JoVanka Ward to take a team and make it great, the Thompson Warriors girls basketball team has been on the verge the last couple of years, but now hope the 2018 season is the year they can make some noise.

On Tuesday, Nov. 13, the Warriors opened the season against county foe Montevallo, and picked up an impressive 55-21 victory to get the year started on the right foot at 1-0.

For Montevallo, taking on the 7A competition as a Class 4A team was a great building block for them as well, as the Bulldogs look to build off of last year’s successful postseason run.

The first quarter of the game, however, set the tone for the night, as Thompson came out ready to prove they are ready for the 2018-19 season.

While a big difference in the classifications obviously made a difference, the Warriors’ 15-2 quarter was still impressive to start the season.

Five different players were able to put points on the board in the quarter for Thompson, including six points from Brooklyn Oden, who drained all four of her free throws in the opening period.

Montevallo played much better on both sides of the ball in the second quarter, and though they were still on the wrong end of the point total at the end of the period, it was the improvement head coach Tena Niven needed to see.

The Bulldogs’ defense held Thompson to 11 points, while scoring seven points themselves.

At the half, the Warriors had extended their lead to 26-13 and the 5-6 mark at the free throw line was a big reason for the 13-point lead.

Coming out of the halftime break, Thompson knew it had a chance to close out the game with a strong quarter, and that’s just what the Warriors did thanks to the play of London Wooley.

Wooley came out firing in the period and posted 11 points on five made field goals, including one 3-pointer.

Thompson also continued its strong shooting from the free throw line going 3-3 in the frame, and posted another strong defensive quarter limiting the Bulldogs to just six points, while the Warriors posted 20.

Now leading 46-15, Thompson had forced a hot clock in the final period and went on to close the game out with a 9-6 final quarter for the 55-21 win.

Wooley led seven different scorers for the Warriors with 17 points, while Oden finished her night with 10 points. Thompson also went 11-13 from the free throw line, which might be the biggest key moving forward.

Montevallo was led by TeKay Hill with 10 points in the game.

Photos available at Shelbycountyphotos.com

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