<%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> hawkhoops.com | Media Coverage

 
 


Hiland stunned in CitC finale

By ZACH BOLINGER
Daily Record Sports Writer

BERLIN -- No practice.  No shootaround.  No film session.

Trinity's girls basketball team has today off, and the Trojans more than earned it.

Playing its third game in three days Trinity somehow had enough legs to outscore Hiland 12-2 in the final 3:28 Monday, beating the Hawks 49-47 in the Classic in the Country III finale.

"I don't want to say I'm shocked, because I know what my team can do," Trinity coach Chrissy Falcone said, whose team was ranked fifth in the first Div. III Associated Press poll and improved to 9-3.  "We came in knowing the many things we would face, and our kids showed pure determination."

With tired legs and minds, Trinity played zone defense for much of the game.  But after Hiland (8-2, ranked second in Div. IV AP poll) reserve Ashton Guggisberg capped a 7-0 fourth-quarter run with a 3-pointer -- giving the Hawks a 45-37 lead with 3:48 left remaining -- Trinity went back to its bread and butter.

The Trojans turned up the tempo, trapping in the full court and forcing the final three of Hiland's uncharacteristic 22 turnovers.  The last of those brought forth the game-winning score and a stunned silence at the Perry Reese Jr. Community Center.

Trinity standout Rachele Fitz drilled two free throws in a one-and-one situation with 21 seconds left.  Hiland inbounded, but senior guard Elise Johnson deflected a backcourt pass and the Trojans gained possession.

The ball swung to Jilesa Moore at the top of the key, and from 30 feet out she whipped a pass under to Johnson who converted a layup with four second remaining.  Jena Stutzman took the final possession the length of the floor, but her 10-foot runner right of the lane was strong off the glass.

"I'm at a loss," stunned Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said.  "It's too bad, that for 28 minutes we played well enough to win and then we just gave it away.

"Even with 16 seconds left, when we had that last turnover, I'm thinking we're either going to win or go to overtime. ... We systematically handed them the game.  Turnovers, missing free throws, fouling -- we did it all."

Indeed the Hawks unfortunately did.

Lindsay Stuckey and Stutzman both missed front-end free throws in the one-and one in the final 46 seconds.  After Stutzman's miss with 21 ticks left, Rachel Thomas was called for a foul going for the rebound.  That set up Fitz's charity toss makes and the crazy finish.

"We got chewed out at halftime, but we were all over the floor there at the end," said Fitz, who has signed to play at Marist College.

"I was nervous for those free throws, of course, but I'm so proud of the way my team went out there and did what they needed to do."

Fitz, a Ms. Basketball candidate averaging 26 points and 17 rebounds per game, went to the bench with three fouls at the 5:55 mark of the second quarter.

Hiland finished the frame on a 9-2 run to take a 23-17 lead at intermission, but Fitz played foul free in the second half and had 12 of her 19 points.

Johnson added 10 points, and Buffalo University bound Dayna Smith had 14 points and six rebounds.

Stuckey pace Hiland with 16 points, six steals and five rebounds, while Rachel Thomas had 12 points and seven rebounds and Lydia Miller nine points and nine boards.

Thomas had 10 of her points in the first 10 minutes, while Miller had seven in the first four minutes of the final quarter.

"This is definitely a spoiler to the weekend," Schlabach said.  "I thought (Trinity) was tired and we had them on the ropes, but they picked up the intensity level in the last few minutes and we didn't match it."

Hiland did outrebound Trinity 40-27, but the Hawks were just 2-of-18 from 3-point range and shot 35.4 percent (17-of-48) for the game total.

"We had a  couple looks that were deeper than we would've liked, and a couple others that were contested, but most of them were open looks," Schlabach said.  "It's time for us to hit a shot again. ... In two of the three games we've played good teams, we've turned the ball over and haven't shot it well."

Courtesy The Daily Record, Wooster, Ohio

 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
 
hawkhoops.com. All rights reserved.