
A senior, Keirra Thompson remains one of the best passing guards in the state, but she also has had to step up in scoring while leading the Camas Papermakers this season
Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com
Honestly, we should have known all along.
After all, she grew up in a basketball gym, with a basketball family, honing all of her skills.
For years, though, most of us only saw a glimpse of her scoring potential. Sure, she could shoot, but why?
With so many talented teammates, why would one of the best passing guards in Southwest Washington high school basketball history ever need to truly showcase her scoring ability?
So Keirra Thompson crushed it in her role as a pass-first point guard with the Camas Papermakers for three seasons, helping the program to its first state championship in 2024.
Now a senior, Keirra Thompson has had to adapt. The Papermakers returned only two of the top eight in the rotation from last season.
Someone needed to pick up the scoring slack.
And just like that, the best-kept secret in the region is no longer a secret.

Earlier this month, Thompson set a school record with 40 points in a game. She followed that up with 34 in front of a packed gym against rival Union.
“I knew that I was gonna have to score a little more,” Thompson said. “In the offseason, I was kind of working more on scoring and finding my own shot.”
Heading into the stretch run of the 2024-25 season, defenses are still trying to figure out a way to slow down Thompson.
“People don’t play me the same way,” as other top scorers, Thompson said. “If they are guarding the pass, the shot is open. If they are guarding the shot, the pass is always open. It’s a great balance for my game that upgraded recently.”
But really, was it an upgrade? Or simply an opportunity? Thompson has always had this potential. There was just no need.
As a freshman, she came off the bench before becoming a starter in the postseason. This great Camas run — fourth place in state, second in state, and then first in state the past three seasons — was led, in scoring, by an incredible Class of 2024 talent.
It was a perfect spot for a perfect passer such as Thompson.
“With teammates like Addie, Reagan, Riley, hitting them for layups is the better option for the team winning,” Thompson said, referring to Addison Harris, Reagan Jamison, and Riley Sanz — all three now playing college basketball. “Coming into this year, I knew I was going to be in a different role because they are all gone. So sometimes I’m the best option. Sometimes, me driving and kicking out is the best option for the team.
“It helps throw off other teams because teams know me as a pass-first point guard,” Thompson said. “Sometimes, it’s my turn.”
That has turned into a lot of times this season. Thompson is averaging better than 22 points per game. But don’t worry, basketball traditionalists, Thompson the point guard still knows how to dish. Her assists are up this season, as well, with 7.4 per game.
The scoring burst, though, has opened up a lot of eyes. Growing up, she never envisioned being the single-game record holder for the Papermakers. She still remembers being intimidated when she first broke into the starting lineup her freshman season.
That team took fourth in state.
The next year, the team took another leap.
“It was a great culture. I felt like our team really bonded that year,” Thompson said. “We played some of the top teams. That’s when we said, ‘OK, we’re really good this year.’ We were going to go on a run.”
To the state championship game. The Papermakers lost that night, though.
“That motivated our whole team. That loss fueled us,” Thompson said. “Every day in practice, ‘OK, we’re not getting second this year. We’re coming back to win it.’”
Sure enough, the Papermakers soared in the Tacoma Dome to the championship in 2024.
The Papermakers have their championship rings, and enjoy being described as the reigning state champions every time they are introduced at home games.
But this is a new season, with similar goals.
“We’re trying to make as deep of a run as we can,” Thompson said. “We’re a little bit unassuming. People are like, ‘OK, they lost six of their top eight players, so how good are they?’”
She said the younger players have stepped up, and Camas is doing Camas things to put the team in position.
“Just doing a lot of the small things to win basketball games,” she said. “We’re still a really tight team, and we’re still trying to win a state championship.”
Just with a different scoring leader.
Thompson scored 40 points against Evergreen earlier this month.
“I didn’t know how many points I had,” Thompson said, until she reached 33, which was the record held by Harris. “Then the bench started cheering really loud. It was a really cool moment to have your teammates behind you like that. After the game, they all poured water on me.”
A few days later, she made seven 3-pointers en route to her 34-point performance against Union.
“It’s 10 times better playing in front of that many people,” Thompson said. “We live for that. We live for close games. We live for that huge atmosphere playing in front of the biggest crowds.”
Also on that night, Thompson recorded her 1,000th point of her career with the Papermakers.

After the game, Thompson took a picture with a number of Camas youth basketball players.
“Me growing up in Camas Juniors, I looked up to those high school players. I came to every game. I was those kids who made signs. Being that role model for the younger kids is honestly the best,” Thompson said. “How I looked up to them is how they look up to me.”
In Thompson, those youngsters see a complete basketball player. The points are coming this season, but the assists have always been there. Thompson is the career leader for the Papermakers.
She often gets more oohs and aahs from the crowd when she connects with a no-look pass, or a behind-the-back gem.
Those passes don’t always go as expected, though. Her teammates have had some learning experiences in practice.
“I’ve definitely hit a couple people in the face before, but it teaches them to catch it,” Thompson said with a laugh.
Thompson herself has had some teachable moments, too, in games.
“I remember a couple of years ago, I tried to throw one behind my head and it went straight to the other team,” Thompson said. “My dad called timeout, and he was saying something about ‘throwing a stupid pass.’”
Oh yes, Thompson is just one of the Thompsons on this team. Coach Scott Thompson said there is another element that makes his daughter so special as a basketball player.
“One of things that really defines her as a player is how great of a teammate she is. It obviously starts with the way she passes the ball. Players love playing with a point guard who gets them the ball when they are open,” Scott Thompson said.
But that’s just on-the-court stuff. That is only part of what makes Keirra different.
“She’s just one of the players that everybody in the locker room wants to be around. Her teammates will define her as one of the most positive people in their lives,” the coach said.
Younger players on the team are coming into “this great, positive environment where they can be themselves,” the coach said.
“As a teammate, she checks all the boxes. She’s a great teammate who cares about her friends and does it with a ton of joy and gets the ball to them when they are open.”
Keirra Thompson will be taking that joy to Boise State next year. She signed with the Broncos in November, noting that her future teammates preached culture. She said everyone on the team seemed to enjoy each other.
Just like at Camas.
Before college ball, though, there is a matter of this final push in her final high school season. With Keirra as the leading scorer.
“Her passing and her ability to set her teammates up with a good shot has always made her special,” Scott Thompson said. “She’s always thrived in that role. You never wanted to take that away from her, but we also know we have a 45-percent 3-point shooter that we needed to unlock a little and we needed her to get a little more aggressive with her scoring.”
This big change was also made easier because of Keirra’s ease with being coached.
“I’ve been coaching her her whole life,” Scott Thompson said. “Here she is in her senior year, and will still show up to the gym every day, and she still shows up eager to learn. … She just shows up with joy and a smile on her face and anything we tell her to do, she just eats it up. She is still eager to learn. And I think that’s one of the best qualities a player can have.”
There are roughly six weeks left in the high school basketball season, at least for the teams that make it to the final week. Camas has made it to the state tournament every year with Keirra Thompson as the point guard so that remains the expectation.
No matter how this season unfolds, there will be a big change coming for the Papermakers.
“It’s crazy. Going from freshman year to my senior year, honestly, it felt like the entire year revolved around the months of basketball season. When school starts, I’m just looking forward to November and basketball season starting. Then, when it ends, I’ve got to get ready for the next basketball season,” Keirra Thompson said.
It has been quite a ride.
“High school basketball is just great,” she said, noting how special it is in a community such as Camas, with all the support.
Those oohs and aahs from the Camas crowd all these years? They will stay Keirra Thompson into college and beyond, as a pass-first guard with quite the scoring option.
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