Girls athlete of the week

// The Post-Gazette’s top female performer from the past seven days

The past week: After starting the season 0-4, Peters Township, which won WPIAL and PIAA titles only two years ago, picked up three big wins against Baldwin, Moon and Oakland Catholic. Thompson scored 35, 29 and 17 points in the victories.

Check this out: Thompson is a 6-foot-2 junior who is considered one of the best players in the WPIAL. She started on the 2019 team that won WPIAL and state championships. Through the first six games this season, Thompson was averaging 20.5 points and 13 rebounds a game while shooting 76% from the free-throw line. Thompson already has college scholarship offers from, among others, Duquesne, Pitt, St. John’s and Bucknell.

This team seems to be rolling a little lately? I think so. The season started off in a bit of a mess. We had some freshmen that were playing and we just didn’t really have all the dynamics together. Then we had the big pause and not being able to practice affected us. We sort of started to put things together.

Any reason you have done

better lately? I was putting a lot of pressure on myself. I know I have to carry my team a little bit, but the last couple games, I allowed myself not to worry about that. Just go out and have fun and do what I know I can do.

Have you made a conscious effort to do more lately? For me, it’s more a mental game than anything. Mentally, I have to make sure I don’t allow myself to overthink everything and just allow myself to play. I’m not making more of an effort to score or get rebounds.

It sounds like you think a lot about the mental part of the game. Isn’t that unusual for a

high school junior? Growing up, my mom always told us how powerful the mind is. You have to take the time for manifesting that the way you want. I think if you’re in the right mental space, you can accomplish whatever it is that you want. How different are you as a player now, compared to your freshman year? I think I’m very different. I didn’t really stray outside the box as a freshman. I’m more willing to take risks. My coach might get mad at me for that every now and then, but I think I’ve got a better basketball IQ and I’m more willing to drive the ball and shoot now. As a freshman, I was more of the textbook post player.

Any significance to the name Journey? My mom, I guess, had a dream about it. She said she had a dream someone came up to her that had the name Journey. I do get a lot of jokes about it. Like if I’m traveling someone will say, ‘Have a safe Journey home.’ I also get the song a lot ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ (from the band Journey)