One of the most prolific shooters and scorers in the program’s history, Amy Thompson was honored as the Most Valuable Athlete for the Stillwater girls basketball team.
The senior was joined in earning All-Suburban East Conference honors by teammates Liana Buckhalton and Annika Peper. Sisters Lucci and Franny deLeon were honorable mention all-conference selections.
Buckhalton and Peper were co-recipients of the Defensive Most Valuable Player Award.
The Ponies finished the season with a 20-8 record, including 13-5 to place third in the Suburban East Conference standings behind White Bear Lake (15-3 SEC, 21-9) and East Ridge (14-4, 20-9). Stillwater was seeded third in Section 4AAAA and was stopped by No. 2 seed East Ridge 79-59 in the semifinals.
Thompson hauled in several awards and honors after averaging 25.8 points per game this season. The University of South Florida recruit was a Class AAAA All-State selection by the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association and was named the Pioneer Press East Metro Player of the Year. Thompson was an honorable mention All-Metros selection by the Star Tribune.
Thompson was also one of seven McDonald’s All-American nominees from Minnesota and also garnered Academic All-State recognition.
The sharp-shooter finished her prep career with 1,880 career points — including 1,785 at Stillwater to place No. 3 on the program’s all-time list behind Sara Scalia (2,610) and Alexis Pratt (1,989). Thompson shot better than 40 percent from three-point range in all five of her varsity seasons, connecting on 40.8 percent (351 of 860) overall in her career. She drained a school-record 10 threes in a game this season and her 126 made 3-pointers as a senior is among the highest single-season totals in Minnesota history.
Thompson has recorded the three highest scoring single game totals in program history, including games of 44, 47 and 48 points during her senior season. Sara Scalia previously held the school record for points in a game at 39. Thompson’s 721 points total this season also ranks No. 2 behind Scalia on the program’s single-season scoring list.
She was also accurate at the free throw line, shooting 87.8 percent to break Scalia’s previous record of 87.0 percent. Thompson also made 81 percent of her career free throws, which ranks second behind Scalia’s school record of 82.7 percent.
In earning all-state honors, Amy and Sarah (Howard) Thompson are believed to be the first daughter-mother tandem at Stillwater to earn that designation. Sarah was an all-conference, all-metro and all-state performer while playing for George Hoeppner in the 1980s, including the program’s first-ever state tournament appearance in 1984. She later earned All-American honors at St. Cloud State University.
Amy contributed to Stillwater teams that advanced to state in 2021 and 2023.
Buckhalton averaged 2.9 steals and 3.0 assists per game to lead the Ponies in those categories and also ranked second on the team with 13.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Peper averaged 11.4 points per game and was the team’s most accurate three-point shooter at 41.9 percent.
Sophomore Addison Bergstad received the team’s Most Improved Player Award while junior Lucci deLeon and sophomore Marit Wolden each received the Pony Award. The Coaches Award was presented to junior Gabriella Butala.
Girls basketball
All-Conference: Liana Buckhalton, Annika Peper and Amy Thompson; All-Conference Honorable Mention: Lucci deLeon and Franny deLeon; Academic All-State: Amy Thompson; McDonald’s All-American Game nominee: Amy Thompson; Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association Class AAAA All-State: Amy Thompson; Star Tribune All-Metro Honorable Mention: Amy Thompson; Pioneer Press East Metro Player of the Year: Amy Thompson; Most Improved Player Award: Addison Bergstad; Pony Award: Lucci deLeon and Marit Wolden; Coaches Award: Gabriella Butala; Defensive MVP Award: Liana Buckhalton and Annika Peper; Most Valuable Athlete: Amy Thompson; Captains elect: To be determined.
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