Jan. 18—GRAND FORKS — When Thompson girls basketball coach Jason Brend told senior Addison Sage about a program scoring record, Sage immediately mentioned her teammates.
“She said you can’t do it without great teammates,” Brende said. “That’s a special statement for a high school student.”
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These talented teammates and Sage continue to improve as Sage recently surpassed Mackenzie Hughes as the Tommies’ all-time scoring leader. The No. 4 Tommies competed in the Class A Shootout at Devils Lake over the weekend, defeating top 5 competition from No. 2 Valley City and No. 3 Turtle Mountain.
Sage’s 1,572 points surpassed Hughes, who was an All-American at Mayville State and is now in her final season at UND.
“She’s definitely a special player,” Brende said. “She’s also lucky enough to be in a good class where they all put in the time and know how to play. They help each other out.”
Sage hit seven 3-pointers against Valley City on Friday. Earlier this season, Sage shot 9-for-10 from 3-point range in a game. The nine three-pointers broke Hughes’ record of eight three-pointers in a single game.
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Sage formed a dynamic 1-2 punch with Kya Hurst, who has about 700 career rebounds.
“(The rebound total) is pretty good for a 5-6 year old,” Brende said.
The Tommies lost to top-ranked South Prairie Marks and Carrington early in the season, though Brende said those losses helped his team. Thompson is currently on a seven-game winning streak.
“From that point on, we recalibrated and talked about what worked and what didn’t,” Brende said. “The kids continue to grow and we’ve been playing our best basketball over the Christmas break and beyond.”
Thompson’s supporting cast grew throughout the year, adding firepower to the connection between Sage and Hurst.
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Andie Schwab Jr. provides ballhandling and defense.
“She does a great job of putting pressure on really good players,” Brende said. “We’ve needed Hurst as a top player over the last few years, and that’s a lot when you also expect her to score for you. Andy has been doing that and running the ball with vision and scoring. She’s been a kid since Christmas playing her best basketball. She plays within the limits of her ability and continues to grow.”
Claire Kolling also had a stabilizing influence on the Tommy family.
“She’s one of our most consistent, most versatile players,” Brende said. “She played with other girls for years and was one of those quiet kids who did everything. Sometimes you didn’t notice until you saw the movie.”
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Brende said Thompson has learned how to play without the height advantage.
“(Against Valley City), I thought we did a good job of being physical with their bigs,” he said. “We wanted to keep contact and keep them out of the paint. They took some shots, but we were able to rebound well and that was the key.”
