Montville — Angelica Tompkins, who has 1,179 points and counting for the St. Bernard School girls’ basketball program, calls head coach Mike Nystrom her best friend on the court.

Nystrom chuckles to himself before saying, “It depends on what day it is.”

“Lately, yes, so far,” he said.

Tompkins finished Thursday’s 60-45 loss to Rocky Hill with an impressive 28 points, including five 3-point field goals, plus 16 rebounds and five steals. A year ago, when she earned Class S all-state honors, the 5-foot-7 guard had 40-or-more points three times, including a 41-point game Feb. 8 to eclipse the 1,000-point barrier in a victory against Old Lyme.

On Thursday, Tompkins checked out of the game for the final time with 1 minute, 35 seconds remaining. As the clock expired, Tompkins draped her arm around Nystrom’s shoulder and squeezed.

The coach, in his 41st year, has one more season left to watch Tompkins, whom he refers to as the best guard in program history. There was barely a play in Thursday’s game that Tompkins didn’t have an assist, a rebound, a steal or a blocked shot.

Tompkins, averaging 19.8 points per game, also has just one more season. She’s decided not pursue a college career. So far she’s gotten accepted at six of the 10 colleges where she’s applied and she plans to major in athletic training.

She’s currently passing the torch to this year’s roster of young players, helping to make them better, patting them on the back, taking ownership.

It’s a leadership role which the sometimes fiery Tompkins has grown into.

“Definitely, I have,” Tompkins said, asked of growing up inside the walls of St. Bernard. “It’s been a very big process, a lot of learning experiences, but it’s been fun, it’s been great.”

“This year she’s been a great leader, she’s been positive,” Nystrom said. “We got killed by Windham. She didn’t have a good game and she was still positive. In the past that might not happen. She’s very intense. In the past, she’s reacted instead of buttoning (her lips), which is true for a lot of us. I’m getting better at it and she’s getting a lot better at it.”

Said Nystrom: “I don’t know what we’d do without her.”

In the first half against Rocky Hill, Tompkins — her teammates call her “Gelly” — scored 21 of 24 points for the Saints, who trailed 29-24. She hit a 3-pointer from behind a screen to pull St. Bernard (1-3) within 8-5 in the first quarter, then found Gemma Tonucci on a fast break.

She scored all 13 of the team’s points in the second quarter, going 5-for-5 from the foul line, hitting two 3s and going end-to-end for a layup.

Rocky Hill’s pressure got to the Saints in the third quarter, with the Terriers finishing the third on an 11-0 run as the score ballooned to 48-30. St. Bernard maintained its effort in the fourth quarter, however, as Tompkins had a shot blocked, got her own rebound and scored.

Zanfina Gjonbalaj added six points and four blocks for St. Bernard and Morghan Kuhn had five points and 10 rebounds.

Norwich Free Academy girls’ coach Courtney Gomez is a self-described “fan” of Tompkins, often promoting her for various awards.

“I’m a fan of Angelica’s because she has an ease to her offensive skill set that is fun to watch,” said Gomez, a former Division I guard. “She’s quick and explosive in the open floor and I like to watch her because she looks like she has fun playing the game.

“Watching her career at St. Bernard has been fun.”

Tompkins is from Groton and was home schooled until her freshman year, when she and her parents decided on St. Bernard for a mix of athletics and academics. Tompkins has also played forward for the Saints in girls’ soccer.

She played AAU basketball from the fifth grade on, both with the Connecticut Spirit and the Connecticut Storm. She credits Post women’s basketball coach Courtney Burns, the former Mitchell College coach, with helping to train her.

“It’s very hard to give up,” said Tompkins of basketball, which she was certainly recruited to play in college. “I loved basketball growing up. It’s very hard to give up. It’s just the right choice for me. ... I love how it brings everyone together. You develop a family out of everybody and it’s a great experience.”

Just because she’s giving up the game, doesn’t mean Tompkins is giving up on a single possession this season. The Saints are 1-0 in Eastern Connecticut Conference Division IV and Tompkins isn’t done at 1,179 points (she played only 12 games as a freshman due to a COVID-shortened season).

“It’s all about reps. I’m not going to be here next year so just trying to get (the rest of the team) reps, get them working to a better level,” Tompkins said. “Got to do what we can for the team. ... The family (at St. Bernard) is amazing. Everyone has your back.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com