Thompson’s spark off bench ignites top-seeded Wallace State women to convincing victory in ACCC tourney quarterfinal game

HANCEVILLE – Wallace State’s women’s basketball team has thrived all season on a different player grabbing the spotlight on any given night.
Monday was BreAnna Thompson’s turn. The freshman forward from Piedmont scored a team-high 12 points off the bench, including seven in a row in the first half, to help turn a tight ballgame into a blowout, propelling Wallace State to a convincing 89-61 victory over Lawson State in their Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC)/Region 22 tournament quarterfinal game Monday night at Tom Drake Coliseum.
Wallace State (27-4) and Lawson State swapped leads four times in the opening 10 minutes of the game. Lawson State then grabbed a slight 18-14 lead before Thompson and the Lady Lions took over. Thompson converted a layup, a 3-point play and a pair of free throws over a 90-second stretch, reclaiming a 21-18 lead for the Lady Lions.
Thompson finished 3 of 4 from the field and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line. Thompson, a two-sport star at Wallace State, is accustomed to flourishing in the postseason after already leading the Wallace State volleyball team to a state championship last semester. She was an all-tournament and 1^st-team All-ACCC/Region 22 selection in volleyball.
Wallace State followed Thompson’s spark with a 3-point barrage, nailing seven 3’s over the final 6:40 to close the half with a 44-25 advantage. Lawson State never came close to threatening again.
“I’ve said over and over this season you never know whose night it’s going to be. It may be someone new and tonight (Monday) it was. I was proud of BreAnna’s effort. We started to settle in after she came in. Our shots started to fall,” said Wallace State coach Ron Burdette, who has led the Lady Lions to the ACCC tournament title game in his two previous seasons. “We had been sitting around for two days watching basketball instead of playing. Once you get into tournament time you are going to have some jitters, and we did during the first 10 minutes or so. We felt we had an advantage because Lawson State had played Sunday night, so the design was to run up and down on them. I felt we did a good job sticking to that plan.”
Wallace State finished with 11 3’s as a club, shooting 52 percent (11 of 21) from behind the arc.
Three other Lady Lions finished in double figures. Morgan Pearson and Brandee Busenlehner each finished with 11 points, draining three 3’s apiece, and Morgan Smith poured in all 10 of her points in the first half.
DeAndrea Carter had nine points off the Wallace State bench, Jaylan Snowden contributed nine points, Haven Albright poured in eight and Jasmine Coleman added six points and eight rebounds.
Wallace State defeated Lawson State for the second time in a week and third time since Feb. 15.
The Cougars (17-12) were led in the loss by Jamarra Taylor and Kari Jones, who both scored 13 points.
Wallace State advances to play Gadsden State in a semifinal game Tuesday night at 7.
“We’ve got one down and two more to go to reach our goal. I feel we were very fortunate to get our starters some rest in the second half. We need to be as fresh as possible,” Burdette said. “It will be Gadsden’s third game in three days, so we’ll see if we have an advantage because of that. We’ll roll the ball out there at 7 p.m. and see what happens.”
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit wallacestate.edu.