When healthy, Claire Thompson helps make a world of difference for the University of Puget Sound’s women’s basketball team.

Though she wasn’t sidelined completely, the Santa Cruz High graduate’s court time was greatly limited for several games during the nonconference portion of Puget Sound’s 2024-25 campaign. Battling leg problems, Thompson averaged roughly 11 minutes per contest — more than the 7.9 she averaged as a freshman during the 2023-24 season, but nowhere near enough for Loggers coach Casey Kushiyama’s liking.

As a result, the Tacoma, Washington-based school went 1-9 in its first 10 games, including its Northwest Conference opener against eventual regular-season champion Whitman.

“Because she wasn’t healthy, she couldn’t play the minutes we needed,” Kushiyama said. “Her limited minutes were a big reason why we struggled.”

As it turned out, Thompson had anemia resulting from an iron deficiency. Once she got some iron infusions, Thompson became like Popeye after swallowing spinach — strong, energized, and somebody few opponents wanted to contend with.

“It’s still a battle, but it’s gotten better,” Thompson said.

With Thompson averaging nearly 16 minutes per game in conference play, Puget Sound overcame its dismal start to go 11-4 over the final two months of the regular season — good enough to place fourth in the Northwest Conference and qualify for the conference tournament.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Thompson said after the Loggers’ regular-season finale on Feb. 22, a 71-61 loss to George Fox in Tacoma. “We’re right where we expected to be, but it’s crazy for us to be in the position where we are now given where we started.

“We fought to get here, and we earned that spot. That’s what we do every game — we choose our destiny and we fight our way into it.”

Thompson scored six points on 3-of-7 shooting last Friday in Puget Sound’s season-ending 68-42 loss to George Fox at the conference tournament.

This isn’t the first time Thompson has helped Puget Sound reach the postseason: Last year she started five games down the stretch for the Loggers, who qualified for the Northwest Conference tournament as the No. 3 seed. Puget Sound won the tournament, knocking off top seed Pacific University of Oregon in the final, and stunned Carroll University of Wisconsin in the opening round of the NCAA Division III tournament.

Typically one of the first players off the bench — she did start four games this season — Thompson proved her value to Puget Sound early in conference play, scoring a career-high 14 points in the Loggers’ Jan. 4 win over Whitworth. She then matched that total two more times — against Whitworth again on Jan. 31 and most recently against Lewis & Clark on Valentine’s Day. In each of those games, Thompson shot 50 percent or better from the field, converting a season-best 6-of-7 field goals in Puget Sound’s Jan. 31 win over Whitworth.

In the process, she more than doubled her scoring average from 2.0 points per game at the start of the season to 5.2 points at season’s end.

“She attacks the basket,” Kushiyama said. “She’s an incredible athlete who’s almost impossible to keep in front of.”

Not that Thompson is willing to take all the credit.

“I love to share the ball, and when I share the ball, I end up getting it back,” the sophomore said. “We have so much chemistry as a team. My teammates are the reason I got my career highs.”

It’s easy to see why Kushiyama values Thompson so highly: With her muscular 5-foot-11 frame, Thompson’s build appears to be that of a forward — the position she played at Santa Cruz High. And she does score and defend well in the low post, as the best post players do.

However, Thompson also handles the ball well enough that Kushiyama trusts her to bring it up the floor, reads the court well enough to find open teammates, has the speed to shake defenders when cutting toward the basket, and boasts a wingspan that enables her to effectively guard opponents on the perimeter.

“She’s so versatile,” Kushiyama said. “She’s the type of athlete I’m always looking for when I’m trying to recruit. She can play anywhere on the floor.”

A psychology major, Thompson isn’t sure what she hopes to do with her degree just yet. She has a couple more college seasons to figure it out.

For now, her focus is on helping Puget Sound keep qualifying for postseason play.

“The biggest thing about Claire is who she is as a person,” Kushiyama said. “As good a basketball player as she is, she’s an amazing kid. She’s a leader for our team, she’s likable, and she’s coachable.

“I love that kid.”