Thompson, Triad outlast Mascoutah in MVC showdown

Just when the first Mississppi Valley Conference battle of the season appeared to be going the distance, it was Triad senior Sophie Thompson who delivered the knockout blow on Monday at Mascoutah High School.

Thompson scored 11 of her game-high 23 points during a five-minute stretch in the third quarter to help break open a tight game as Triad went on for a 55-46 win over Mascoutah.

Fresh off a tournament championship when it defeated Massac County in the title game of the Nashville Invitational on Saturday, Mascoutah (4-1) erased a halfime deficit and tied the game at 27 on consecutive baskets by Katie Jokisch and Maddie Nekola with just over five minutes left in the third quarter.

But just 4-of-14 from the floor up to that point, the 5-10 Thompson took over. Scoring on three consecutive trips down the floor, Thompson helped Triad score 11 of the final 15 points of the period as the Knights (5-1) took a 38-31 lead.

The Indians would get no closer then six points the rest of the night as Triad made 15-of-21 free throws in the fourth quarter.

“Its a big win for us. Beating a very good Mascoutah team here on this court.... You bet its a big win for us,” Indians coach Josh Hunt said. “I didn’t think we played very well in the first half. In fact I’m not sure we could have played much worse.

“But to the girls credit, we kept battling and made enough plays. We did a a good job of shooting free throws down the stretch. That was good to see.”

Key sequence

The Knights to scorer and one of the top players in the metro-east, Thompson gave the Knights the lead for good at 30-27 when she hit her second 3-point basket of the night. Then, following a missed shot by Indians sophomore Tennaye Green, Thompson scored on a conventional 3-point play to increase the lead to six points.

Thompson then took a long pass from junior Hannah Johnson and scored on a layup with 3:46 left in the quarter as the Knights’ lead grew to eight points. Green and Jokisch, who had 12 points, both scored late in the third period which ended with Triad leading 38-31.

“It was an even game until that four-minute stretch in the third quarter when they (Triad) had that little run and opened the lead,” Mascoutah coach Terry Moeller said. “The thing about Triad is when they get a lead, they seperate so well.

“She (Thompson) had 23 points but she could have had 26. She gave up the ball to a teammate who had a better shot.”

Key players

Thompson had 23 points for Triad, while Sam Woods added 13 and Johnson chipped in with 11. Nekola paced MAscoutah with 14 points.

“Sophie is a special player. We all know that,” Hunt said. “You saw that even tonight when she didn’t have a great night shooting the basketball, that she found other ways to score. She’s just so strong and such a smart player.”

This story was originally published November 30, 2015 at 10:40 PM with the headline "Thompson, Triad outlast Mascoutah in MVC showdown."