Crawfordsville's girls’ basketball team made it three wins in a row for the first time since 2015 by knocking off Covington 47-41 on Tuesday night.
After a back and forth tilt, the game hung in the balance following an 8-0 Covington run that tied it at 38-38 with 4:20 left. Second-year Athenian coach Tyler Smith needed a timeout and his words paid big dividends down the stretch.
Crawfordsville (5-10) scored nine-straight over the next three minutes to bury the Trojans (3-15) and stop all their momentum.
“In that timeout I think there was about 4:16 left, and Covington tied it and I told the girls that it comes down to one four-minute stretch,” Smith said. “‘Win one four-minute stretch.’ To stay calm in those moments and we had a big run right off the bat. To be able to respond, and of course being at home helps, but that’s big for us to have a game like that.”
The win is the seventh in the last 10 home outings for the Athenians dating back to last season.
Olvia Reed led the Athenians with 14 points, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers — the Athenians were 6-of-24 on outside shooting. The junior helped spark the late run with a 3-pointer that followed buckets by Liddy McCarty and Shea Williamson. McCarty added 11 points wihle Williamson lit up the stat sheet with 12 points, seven rebounds, six steals, and five assists — including strong play over the last four minutes.
“She does everything and she also continues to grow into a vocal leader and gets the girls in the right spots and basketball is a game of runs, but it’s also a game of follow the leader and she does a good job,” Smith said. “And tonight as usual, stuffing the stat sheet and making the big plays when they counted.”
Smith also complimented junior Kearston Hutchens, who knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and tied Williamson for a team-high with seven rebounds.
Crawfordsville led 14-8 after a quarter, and 21-20 at halftime. The Athenians led by as many as nine at 33-24 in the third quarter, before the Trojans started to mount their comeback. Crawfordsville was 18-of-48 shooting, while Covington connected on 18-of-54. The difference came from beyond the arc, where the Athenians outscored the Trojans 18-3.
Crawfordsville will host Lebanon on Thursday, before traveling to Tri-West on Friday and hosting Southmont on Saturday.
Jeff Nelson contributed to this story.
