Thompson Ready For Big Senior Season
9/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sept. 8, 2011
FORT WORTH, Texas - Heading into her final season in a Horned Frog uniform, senior Antoinette Thompson has a lot she wants to accomplish before she leaves Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
The Fort Worth native, who has spent the past couple of months redefining her game to be more of an all-around player, wants to leave her own mark on a women's basketball program that has played in nine NCAA Tournaments in 11 years and is the only Mountain West school to record at least 11 wins in each of the past six seasons.
"I really want to be a strong leader and take my team to the NCAA Tournament in my final year," said Thompson.
The 5-foot-7 point guard, who teammates call Nette, has been a mainstay in the Frogs starting lineup since her sophomore season and has used the recent summer to work on her entire game, including her shooting. It appears teammates have taken notice of the senior's dedication this summer as well.
"I think Nette has stepped up a lot and has really caught my attention," said junior forward Delisa Gross. "We played a lot this summer and you can just tell that her leadership and vision on the court has improved. Last year people used to sag off of her cause she is so quick, but you can really tell she has improved her shooting this summer."
Thompson literally spent her summer shooting at least 500 shots a day. Asked what she did for fun this summer and Thompson replied that she just got better and tried to take her game to another level.
As the lone senior on the 2011-12 squad, Thompson is coming off a junior campaign in which she played in 29 games, while making 23 starts from her point guard position. Thompson, who scored a season-high eight points against Texas Southern last winter, was once again one of TCU's leading rebounders on the squad, averaging 2.6 boards a game.
With the 2011-12 season only a couple of months away, Thompson will continue to work on her game daily, knowing that she will be looked upon to guide the Frogs to another Mountain West Championship and 10th NCAA Tournament appearance.
TCU will open up regular-season play at Georgia on Nov. 11.
