Crestview Lady Cougars expect another successful season

OLIVESBURG - The Crestview Lady Cougars are ready to get back to work on the basketball court.

After finishing 17-8 last season and 10-4 in the Firelands Conference, good for second place, the Cougars look ready to reclaim the top spot after a couple of years away.

With six returning letterwinners and just one starter back, the Lady Cougars have some work to do before a conference championship comes into the picture. Head coach Aaron Good, who is 72-24 entering his fifth season as head coach, sees a bright future for his Lady Cougars despite losing six seniors to graduation.

"For us to continue being successful we need our younger players to step in and fill the roles of the six graduated seniors from last year," Goon said. "We will be a young team with only one senior this season. We only return one starter in junior Kathleen Leeper, but we do return five girls that all played varsity last season, including our leading rebounder and third leading scorer in sophomore Kenedi Goon. We really need our senior Kristin Douglas as well as juniors Emily Fry and Elly Motter to take on a much bigger role this year in our offense."

The Lady Cougars will run a three-guard offense with Douglas handling the point. She played in 21 games last season scoring 13 points, adding 27 rebounds, 20 steals and 13 assists as a junior. Fry is slated as the starting two-guard after seeing some time on varsity as a sophomore. She had 13 points, 30 rebounds, 11 blocks, 21 steals and 16 assists as a sophomore. Leeper is the lone returning starter from a year ago and will be looked at to provide some leadership. She averaged eight points, 5.3 rebounds, two steals and 1.6 assists a game as a sophomore netting her Honorable Mention All-District 6 a season ago.

"Kathleen Leeper is a three-year varsity player as a junior and she should pick up some of the scoring after we lost our top two (Jacqueline Baith and Anna Stimpert) to graduation," Goon said. "Kathleen was our second-leading rebounder last season as a 5-foot-8 guard and is a very capable scorer, so we expect a lot from her this year.

"Kenedi Goon is a 6-1 sophomore who played mostly varsity last season and led the team in rebounding, blocked shots (school record 64), and was third on the team in scoring. Her role is going to be much bigger this season as she will move into the starting lineup and get more minutes."

Goon slides into the starting lineup at center as the ultra athletic big averaged 8.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game as a freshman. Her efforts earned her Honorable Mention All-District 6 and Firelands Conference last season. Elly Motter comes into the starting lineup at small forward after scoring 27 points, grabbing 33 rebounds and adding 13 steals as a sophomore.

Junior Destiny Hargett, sophomore Autumn Bailey, sophomore Kylie Ringler and freshman Mary Leeper are expected to see some playing time along with junior Haley Mays and sophomores Kristin Crider, Abby Rall, Lindsey Them and Destiny LaFever.

"We have so many girls that are going to play a pivotal role this year as we replace four starters and our first two off the bench," Goon added. "We are looking for Kristin Douglas, Emily Fry and Elly Motter to help at the guard position, with freshman Mary Leeper helping at guard as well. 

"We are looking for junior Destiny Hargett and sophomore Kylie Ringler to play at either guard or forward. Sophomore Autumn Bailey and junior Haley Mays should get some time at forward. And sophomores Kristin Crider, Destiny LaFever, Abby Rall and Lindsey Them could push for varsity time as well. Our lineup is not yet set and all girls will have a chance to earn a spot this year."

With a pair of 6-footers on the roster, Goon admits his team is still very quick and has a load of speed at the guard positions. But, losing 65 percent of the team's scoring will present some obstacles to overcome early in the year until girls settle into their new roles. Still, Goon believes his Lady Cougars could challenge for a league title.

"The Firelands Conference is wide open this season," Goon said. "Western Reserve probably remains the team to beat with the players and experience that they have returning. Every other team has strengths and weaknesses that could make for an exciting season in the FC. We expect to be near the top of the conference again this year, but the road will be tough in the league this year."

Crestview kicks off the regular season on Friday, Nov. 23, at Cardington.

jfurr@gannett.com

740-244-9934

Twitter: @JakeFurr11