OLIVESBURG — Renee Stimpert was as good as advertised.
Her Crestview teammates were even better.
The high-scoring Stimpert scored 22 of her 34 points in the second half and got plenty of help as the Cougars rallied for an electrifying 79-73 win over Madison on Tuesday.
The Cougars (10-0) trailed the Rams (4-4) 61-54 after three quarters and 63-54 early in the fourth before coming to life. Stimpert led the charge, scoring 12 points in the period.
“Sometimes we like to keep it interesting,” joked Stimpert, who came in averaging a jaw-dropping 32 points a game. “We always do good in the second half. We know we have to come out and play tough, especially when we are down.
“We picked up our defense and that transitioned to our offense. We got some quick, easy looks.”
Madison led 68-64 with less than three minutes remaining before Stimpert drained a 3-pointer to make it 68-67 with 2:51 to play. Crestview regained the lead on a Lexie Shriver layup with 2:31 remaining and Megan Hill split a pair of free throws with 1:48 left to give the Cougars a 70-68 advantage. Shriver’s layup off a Stimpert assist pushed Crestview’s lead to 72-68. Two free throws by Caitlyn Fulk made it 74-68, capping a 10-0 Crestview run.
“The way we played in the fourth quarter was the way I’d been after these girls to play the whole game,” Crestview coach Aaron Goon said. “They finally got up and got after it.
“That is what we should be able to do but for some reason we go through these spells where we sit back and let them do what they want.”
Alexis Smith kept the Rams close with a layup and a 3-pointer, cutting Crestview’s lead to 75-73 with 42 seconds to play. Two more Fulk free throws made it 77-73 and two Stimpert freebies after a steal gave Crestview a 79-73 lead with 17 seconds remaining.
The Cougars forced four Madison turnovers in the final 2:31 and outscored the Rams 25-12 in the fourth.
“We played very poor defense,” Madison coach Brian Davis said. “We got out-worked.”
Smith and Mekaila Grose led Madison with 23 points apiece. Mackenzie Mullins added 12, all in the second half.
Spreading the Wealth: While Stimpert shouldered the load, she had plenty of help offensively. Hill had 14 points, while Fulk and Shriver each added 11. Only five Cougars scored, but four reached double figures.
“Honestly, a couple of them were off tonight who are usually hitting,” Goon said. “We didn’t hit from the outside like we have been.
“Everybody who played tonight played real hard and played real well.”
Second-Half Surge: Crestview is no stranger to second-half comebacks. The Cougars have dug themselves a first-half hole on more than one occasion this season.
“We’ve come back a lot this year. We’ve had slow starts,” Goon said. “We came back from double digits at Smithville and at Buckeye Central and we were down nine at Loudonville. “
Injury Bug: The Rams lost senior Kendall Bertoch to a knee injury. She was to have an MRI on Tuesday and her status for the remainder of the season is up in the air.
“Losing one of our seniors is not helping the cause at all,” Davis said. “We’re getting better, but we’ve got a lot to work on.”
