Olivia Thompson's perfect ending
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With a little over two minutes left in Sunday’s second round game, Olivia Thompson peeled off her warmup and walked to the scorer’s table. The crowd started to cheer at the sight of the Lexington native waiting to check into the game.
Thompson was about to make her 77th appearance in a Gamecock uniform, and all but a handful played out this same way. The number of times Thompson played in the first half of a game could probably be counted on one hand.
That’s life for a former walk-on on a team full of all-Americans. But Thompson was still living out her dream.
Whenever Thompson gets in the game the FAMs want her to shoot. Her teammates want her to shoot. Even Dawn Staley would like to see her shoot.
“Every time that we put O in the game, she’s like, I’ve got to warm up,” Staley said. “Really, we want her to go out there and shoot the ball, and she’ll tell us, I’ve got to warm up.”
Thompson is, by Gamecock standards, short, slow, and unathletic. But she can shoot, and that’s what everyone wants to see.
“It can be a little intimidating, but it’s also really awesome to have support like that and people want to see me shoot and be out there,” Thompson said.
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The Introduction
In her first game as a freshman, Thompson scored seven points in a 38-second span and finished with ten points in seven minutes. She’s never come close to that kind of production – in fact, Thompson scored just nine points all of last season – but the FAMs keep hoping.
But Thompson, to almost everyone’s disappointment, is patient.
“I try to make good basketball plays. I get it that they want to see me to shoot but I just want to make good basketball plays,” she said. “I don’t want to shoot just to shoot. “
That changed Sunday. Thompson knew it was her last appearance at Colonial Life Arena, so her mindset was a little different.
“Today, I saw her wanting to get about five shots up. I mean, it’s fitting. I mean, the crowd loves her. She’s done a tremendous job for our team, being a great teammate, a voice in our locker room. It’s only fitting that she ends it. She hasn’t said she’s coming back or not, but if that’s the last memory of her playing on Colonial Life Arena’s floor, it’s one that she’ll live to tell generations of her family.
The Shot
South Carolina got possession with 41 seconds left. The Gamecocks didn’t really run a play, certainly nothing designed to get Thompson open. The defense sagged off Thompson a little too far, Chloe Kitts whipped a pass to Thompson, and she launched.
“Chloe made a great pass and I just had to take the opportunity to hit that shot. I had to,” Thompson said. “It was a great way to go out at CLA. I’m very excited about that.”
Nothing but net. The crowd gave Thompson a standing ovation. Her teammates went crazy on the bench, with Aliyah Boston pretending to hold everyone back.
“After I hit it I was trying to soak it all in,” Thompson said.
She insisted it was a good shot, but admitted she might have loosened the definition of a good shot for the occasion.
“A little bit. I still wasn’t in a let it fly kind of way. I thought it was a good shot. I was comfortable, it was in rhythm,” Thompson said. “I just felt comfortable going into it and I felt good about it as soon as it left my hand.”
After the game, they picked Thompson to put the “South Carolina” sticker on the winner’s bracket.
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To be continued…
Thompson has already decided not to use her COVID year, so that basket will be her final shot at Colonial Life Arena. She doesn’t know what’s next, but she’s comfortable with her basketball career coming to an end.
“I think when it comes to playing college basketball, my time (is up). It’s no bitterness. I’ve had the best time here,” Thompson said. “I’m ready to close this chapter and move on to the next.”
At least she made sure the chapter had a fairytale ending.
