On one of the many questions she filled out during her four-year playing career, Teressa Thomas listed her favorite female athlete as Chris Evert Lloyd "because she's so competitive."
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
The trademark of Teressa's unparalleled playing career as a Lady Demon was truly intense competitiveness. It was never more evident than last year's stunning win over Northeast, when she scored 25 points, had 8 assists and shadowed NLU All-America guard E.J. Lee into a dreadful performance.
By the time the season ended, Thomas had earned second-team All-America honors from Women's Basketball News Service. She was All-Conference for the second straight year and was on the All-Tournament team at the National Women's Invitational Tournament.
She tied a national single-game assist record with 19 against Mississippi College in the finals of the Lady Demon Christmas Classic, when she also became the NSu career assist leader and won tourney MVP honors. She also was All-Tournament at the Nevada-Reno Lady Pack Classic.
She rated 17th nationally in free throw percentage as a senior and finished as NSU's career free throw shooting leader with a 81.5 percentage average.
Her list of honors goes on and on and on, dating back to her days as a two-time state MVP at Trinity Heights High in Shreveport. But for Thomas, the most important awards always have been won by the team.
And by that measure, there hasn't been a better Lady Demon basketball player than Teressa Thomas.
Two Gulf Star Conference championships, the upset win over Northeast last year, and the 1986 runner-up finish in the NWIT.
Those are the kids of career highlights that the 22-year-old Ida native likes to discuss. While this will be the first season since second grade that Thomas has spent on the bench, she hopes to add a few more team accomplishments to her record as a graduate assistant coach.
Thomas, engaged to NSU football defensive coordinator John Thompson, earned her bachelor's degree in mass communications last May. She also was a member of last year's State Fair Court.
