A-C Valley’s Thompson Signs with Mansfield to Play Basketball

Chris Rossetti

Published April 15, 2018 4:40 am

A-C Valley’s Thompson Signs with Mansfield to Play Basketball

FOXBURG, Pa. (D9Sports) — Ellie Thompson had a career to remember for the A-C Valley Lady Falcons, and now the senior will continue her basketball career at Mansfield University next season playing for Keystone graduate and Mansfield head coach Mike Whitling.

(Photo: Ellie Thompson (sitting in center) is flanked by her parents Shane (right) and Nicole (left) Thompson. A-C Valley athletic director and head girls’ basketball coach Dave Sherman is standing on the left with A-C Valley principal Bill Jordan standing on the right at Thompson’s signing ceremony. Submitted photo)

Thompson helped A-C Valley to a school-record 21 wins (21-7), a PIAA playoff berth, the school’s first-ever PIAA playoff win and the second round of the PIAA playoffs. The Lady Falcons also finished second in both District 9 and the KSAC after winning the KSAC South title for the first time in school history.

Thompson was in the middle of all the success earning first-team All American Awards & Engraving D9Sports.com All-District 9 honors by averaging 19.5 points, 8.3 rebounds. 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game. She finished her career as the all-time leading scorer in A-C Valley girls’ basketball history with 1,527 career points.

At Mansfield, Thompson will play for Whitling, a 1999 Keystone graduate, who is entering his third season with the Mounties. Mansfield went 8-21 overall and 6-16 in the PSAC East but qualified for the PSAC playoffs for the first time in 11 years. It was just the third time the Mounties have appeared in postseason play.

Thompson’s signing brings the total of KSAC players signing to play basketball at NCAA Division II schools next year to three. North Clarion’s Tori Obenrader will play at Gannon and Karns City’s Emily Hegedus at Clarion.

Those three will bring the total KSAC alumnae playing in the PSAC in 2018-19 to seven. Karns City graduate LeeAnn Gibson, Keystone graduate Madison Johnson and Redbank Valley graduate Brooke Hinderliter are all members of the Slippery Rock team while Venango Catholic graduate Taylor Moltz will be a senior at Clarion.