After a freshman year in which she averaged 1.7 points per game, Naiyah Thompson’s team went just 3-27 and was ousted in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament. She had a reason to be frustrated.
Instead, the 5-foot-11 sophomore guard became an integral part of the resurrection of the Boston University women’s basketball program by putting in countless hours on the court and in the weight room during the offseason.
Thompson appears to be bashful when talking about her individual improvement.
“We learned a lot last year,” she said. “A lot of our games were really close and we knew we could hang with teams, but it was that little extra effort that I think all of us put in over the summer. You could see it when we came back for first summer session, everybody was faster. We were stronger. We were playing together and clearly it was going to be a different year.”
However, head coach Katy Steding said she was impressed by Thompson’s commitment to getting into a better condition.
“She got a real confidence boost from getting herself there,” Steding said. “She really separated from a lot of her teammates in that sense. She really took the conditioning goals to heart and got herself to a point where she really excelled.”
Thompson has seen her hard work pay off during a stellar sophomore campaign. May it be leading the Terriers’ full-court pressure, locking down the other team’s top player or scoring, Thompson has proven her ability to do it all.
The Waldorf, Maryland native saw an increased role once Patriot League play began, and she is a major factor in the Terriers’ winning conference record. Since Thompson was inserted into the lineup on Dec. 7, BU has gone 10-7.
Before then, the Terriers went just 1-7 and struggled, especially on the defensive end.
“We rely on her a lot to play the ‘point’ of our defense,” Steding said.
At first, Steding did not rely on Thompson to guard the opposition’s best player, but trusted in her young talent.
“Now we’re routinely saying, ‘OK, Naiyah, here you go. Here’s their best player, get us some stops.’ … Naiyah has embraced that challenge and developed the confidence to say, ‘Yeah, I can be that go-to player on defense,’ and I think that’s loosened her up on offense,” Steding said.
Thompson has had two 17-point outings this season, the first coming in a double-overtime loss at Colgate (8-17, 5-9 Patriot League). The second came in a Terriers victory at Lafayette College. In that game, Thompson went 3-5 from behind the arc.
“The 17-point games are, like, they might happen, they might not,” Thompson said. “I definitely consider myself more of a defensive player. I’m trying to get into the scorer’s mentality because we are losing some scorers this year. I’m getting there.”
Other notable games for the steady sophomore came against Dartmouth College — her first start of the season, where she poured in 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals across 30 minutes of play. Another is at Lehigh University, where Thompson scored eight points accompanied by nine rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 69-64 BU victory.
With key losses of seniors Sarah Hope, Courtney Latham and Meghan Green, Steding looks to Thompson for continued growth and to eventually fill their shoes as a team leader.
“I definitely see her as developing some leadership capabilities,” Steding said. “She’s heady. She struggles once in a while with confidence in crunch-time situations. I think she’s growing by leaps and bounds in those kinds of scenarios.”
Sophomore guards Lauren Spearman and Payton Hauck, as well as freshman forward Nia Irving and guard Vanessa Edgehill, will make up the remainder of the five underclassmen players along with Thompson.
Thompson’s season numbers are not eye-popping, but her contributions extend beyond pure statistics, as she contributes with her pure athleticism.
“Naiyah Thompson has some gifts,“ Steding said. “She plays really good defense. She’s long, she’s quick, she’s very strong and she jumps out of the gym.”
After the win over Colgate, the Terriers’ 11 wins have surpassed the team’s combined total victories over Steding’s first two seasons.
“Anytime you’re trying to rebuild something with a new coach, a new direction, it takes a little bit of time,” Steding said. “One of the things that Naiyah has been instrumental in for us is kind of putting your head down and keep mushing forward. Yeah, we’re going to take some bumps and we’re going to take some hits, but we’re steadily getting better.”
Aiming at hosting a first-round game in the 2017 Patriot League tournament, the Terriers are 5-2 at Case Gym in conference play and currently sit at a tie for fourth place in the Patriot League.
“I think it’s a great testament to the kids that we have in the program, because not a lot has changed from last year to this year except their attitudes [and] their competitiveness in practice,” Steding said of her team’s morale.
Thompson looks forward to finishing out her sophomore campaign and moving on to her junior season, but she believes the Terriers have as good a shot as any team to win a Patriot League title.
“We’re looking for a championship,” she said. “We’re going for it.”
