OLIVESBURG — Crestview needed its All-Ohioan to answer the bell over the weekend and Renee Stimpert was happy to oblige.
Stimpert, the Richland Bank Athlete of the Week, scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Cougars remained undefeated with a 62-53 win at New London on Saturday. Crestview (13-0, 8-0) trailed the Wildcats (11-4, 6-2) 15-2 late in the first quarter and 17-7 going into the second.
“Renee is actually averaging fewer points this year than she was last year, but her assists are up, her steals are up and she’s getting seven or eight rebounds a game,” Crestview coach Aaron Goon said.
Stimpert had 21 points, five rebounds and eight assists in a 92-23 win over Lucas last week.
“She does everything for us,” Goon said.
A 5-foot-8 senior, Stimpert has been doing everything for the Cougars throughout her career. She averaged 20.2 points a game as a freshman and 21.5 points a night as a sophomore. Last year Stimpert averaged an area best 29.4 points a game as Crestview finished the season 20-3.
So far this year, Stimpert is averaging 25.8 points a game. She broke her own single-game mark when she dropped 54 points in a 96-91 overtime victory against Buckeye Central in December and became the program’s career scoring leader midway through her junior year.
“She has accepted that she doesn’t always have to score all the points,” Goon said. “She has taken that role on this year willingly.”
Stimpert’s supporting cast is capable of shouldering some of the scoring chores. Senior Macie Restille scored 21 points in the win over Lucas, while senior Lexie Shriver had 10. In Saturday’s win at New London, Jackie Baith had 14 points.
“We have a lot of seniors and most of them have been playing since their sophomore year,” Goon said. “The expectation is there. There is not a want to win, but an expectation to win and I think that is a mindset you have to have if you truly want to be successful.”
With Saturday’s win, the Cougars took a two-game lead in the chase for the Firelands Conference championship. Crestview was FC runner-up last year with two of its three losses coming to conference champion South Central.
The Cougars lost their regular season finale to South Central last February, then were upset in the sectional semifinals by Wynford two days later.
“Last year we finished 20-3 but we lost our last two games,” Goon said. “That has been a really big motivator. These girls were talking about winning a conference championship last year and we felt like we kind of let it slip away. This year we want to make sure that we work hard enough that it doesn’t happen.
“These girls are deserving and sometimes that isn’t always the case. Sometimes you are just more talented than your opponents. We have talent that works hard.”
The Cougars have been pushed this season on more than one occasion. New London has been within striking distance in both of its losses to Crestview. The Cougars beat Wynford 56-47 earlier this year and held on for a 60-54 win at South Central in late December.
“There were some games where we’ve been pushed very hard,” Goon said. “There is a lot more desire out of this group this year.”
