Olivia Olson is a dominant athlete for Benilde- St. Margaret’s, and she just recently scored her 1000th point for the girls’ basketball team as a sophomore.

If you follow BSM sports, sophomore guard Olivia Olson is not a stranger to receiving awards. Besides winning a gold medal this past summer at the FIBA U16 Women’s Championship in Mexico, the number three ranked player nationally in the class of 2024 has hit her one thousandth career point as a varsity player. Reaching 1000 points as a sophomore is a rare feat that only the best of the best athletes accomplish. The current Benilde-St. Margaret’s girls’ basketball points leader, Stevi Seitz, has 1492 points, and if Olson stays on this pace, she will beat this record in the near future. This is a rare accomplishment; in the last five seasons Olson is the only sophomore to score 1000th points. “It was really cool and fun to be young and score 1000 points and also come out with a win the same night,” Olson said.

Statistically, Olson is on pace to become one of the greatest girls’ basketball players to come out of Benilde-St. Margaret’s. Compared to other girl’s basketball greats from BSM like Khadija Shumpert, Stevie Sietz, Aiana Whitfield, and Grace Coughlin, Olson has the ability to beat all of these players’ records before she is gone.

The Red Knights played St. Louis Park where the Red Knights won 65 to 43. Olson led the way with 29 points and teammates Sierre Lumpkin, Kendall McGee, and Zahara Bishop were also in double digits for scoring. The game score was 50 to 35 in favor of the Red Knights with around 8 minutes left to go and Olson needed one more score to get her 1000 point milestone. “I caught the ball in the corner, then I rejected a screen from Sierre and pulled up for a baseline jumper,” Olson said.

Getting to 1000 points seemed inevitable for Olson since she has been putting up big numbers ever since she was an 8th grader playing on varsity where she led her team in scoring. Olson has been an exceptional talent coming through BSM and anyone who has played with or against her can say the same. Senior captain and teammate Lindsey Layton has been playing with Olson for three years and had high praise for her teammate. “She is always shooting in the morning before school and comes in at 6am…And she always makes time to get into the gym. She grinds all the time. So that’s why she got to [one thousand points] at a young age and I believe she’ll get 2000 points when she’s a senior,” Layton said.

The numbers Olson puts up during games did not come by coincidence. Teammates report that Olivia is one of the hardest workers on and off of the court where she has outstanding grades and is always dedicating herself to her craft. Olson has an amazing support system behind her and helped make all of this possible. “Thank you to all my teammates for assisting me, my coaches for helping me run plays and pushing me, and my parents for driving me to all my practices and games and tournaments and supporting me,” Olivia said.

The Red Knights girls’ basketball team is currently 17 and 5 and are approaching the end of their season. The Red Knights are currently ranked 5th in class 3A according to MN Girls’ Basketball Hub. They have racked up some great wins this season, recently knocking off the number two team in class 4A, Chaska. Record wise, the team is looking great and is one of the best girls teams BSM has seen in years. When asked about the team’s goals this season, “We want to get to the state tournament this year and it’s looking good so far,” Olson said.

The Red Knights are projected to get the number two seed in sections this year. If the Red Knights handle business like they have been all season, their toughest opponent will be the Holy Angels Stars who are currently ranked number two in class 3A. Last season, the section finals resulted in a loss for the Red Knights at the hands of the Stars. Earlier this season, the Red Knights lost to the Stars by 11 points and now the Red Knight are seeking revenge. “We have to beat Holy Angels,” Olson said.

The Red Knights have high hopes for the rest of the season and they have the support of the whole school who believes that they will make it to state. The Red Knights have some other weapons besides Olson, such as freshman Kendell McGee, who is nearing 1000 points in the next couple of games, freshman guard Zahara Bishop, forward Sierre Lumpkin, forward McKenzie Wells, and a great bench supporting them. The Red Knights girls have the whole school supporting them in their goal to make it to state.