OLIVESBURG, Ohio — Renee Stimpert and her Crestview teammates flipped the switch during the second quarter Thursday.
After that, it was lights out for Galion.
Stimpert scored 18 of her 40 points in the second period and the Cougars thundered to a 79-55 win over the Tigers.
Crestview (18-1) trailed Galion (3-15) 17-16 after the first quarter and led 26-24 midway through the second when Stimpert took control. The high-scoring junior — she came in averaging an area-best 31 points a game — scored or assisted on every bucket during a decisive 16-5 run to close the period as the Cougars opened a 42-29 halftime advantage.
“We knew what to expect from Stimpert,” Galion coach Bryce Lehman said. “She’s a heck of a ball player. We knew she was going to get her points.
“From the 3:40 mark to the 2:30 mark (of the second quarter) I think we had five or six turnovers in a row.”
A steal and layup by Stimpert ignited the spurt.
“I’ve been really focusing on my defense,” Stimpert said. “We were struggling in the beginning, but we had to shake it off. Hitting a couple of shots motivated us and our defense created some offense.”
The Cougars continued to extend its advantage throughout the second half. Crestview led 65-43 after three quarters.
Megan Hill added 11 points for the Cougars. Lexi Shriver added nine.
Marisa Gwinner led Galion with 19 points. Taylor Vaentine had 18.
Tough Stretch: The Tigers played their second state-ranked opponent in less than a week. Galion fell to North Union 79-29 on Monday. North Union was ranked fifth in Division III in the most recent Associated Press state poll, while Crestview was sixth.
“It was nice to see us play that well,” Lehman said. “You never know how they are going to respond.
“We had back-to-back game against state-ranked opponents. I told the girls before the game we just need to go out and play basketball and have some fun with it.”
Slow Start: Crestview coach Aaron Goon was displeased with Crestview’s opening quarter. The Cougars were beaten up the floor on several occasions, resulting in uncontested layups for the Tigers.
“Sometimes they seem to have that lack of energy at the beginning,” Goon said. “They turned it on. We started playing defense and getting easy run-outs.
“That’s one of the things I’ve been preaching. You’ve got to be focused. I told them when you get to the tournament and have that off night, you’re going home and I don’t want to go home early. I want to keep playing as long as you can.”
Junior Varsity: Sydney McLaughlin scored 11 points as Crestview won the junior varsity game 34-23. Julie Clouse led Galion with 12 points.
