Hawks make it a three-peat

By ELLIOTT SCHREINER
Daily Record Sports Writer

PICKERINGTON -- A 53-43 loss to Hiland in Thursday night's Pickerington Regional semifinal game was the last thing the Trimble girls basketball team wanted to see.

The Tomcats bowed out to the Hawks each of the last two years and found out that the third time wasn't a charm.

"Two years ago, we played 10 minutes well," said Trimble coach Tim Sikorski. "Last year, we played 15 minutes. And this time around we had enough for 24 minutes. We just don't have their numbers."

In the first half, the Tomcats were all over the Hawks, building a lead as big as 12 before closing the first half up 30-21.

The Trimble duo of Julie Trace and Jennifer Grandy torched the nets, combining to shoot 6-of-9 from downtown en route to 26 combined points.

But in the second half, the Tomcats fell apart.

They started turning it over, their defense was sloppy and Trace and Grandy combined for just four points.

"They put a run on us in the third quarter," Grandy said. "And then our spirits were down."

They were down even lower after the game, when Trimble played their last game of the season against the Hawks for a third year in a row.

It was a trend they tried desperately to stop, preparing vigorously to be ready for Hiland's talent.

"We prepared all week," Grandy said. "We had our freshman boys practicing with us. Their quickness and strength helped us.

"We just gave it our all, there's nothing to be ashamed of."

Plus, it's not like they've been losing to a slouch.

"I guess we can say that we've lost to the best team in the state every year," Grandy said. "If it wasn't for Hiland, we'd have been going to the big show."

A DAUNTING TASK - Up next for the Hawks will be another rematch, this time against Africentric, one of the many Hiland victims last year.

While the Hawks are defending state champions, they may play the roll of underdog in this one.

Africentric is 25-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 in Div. IV.

They won the Columbus City Championship by knocking off Div. I Brookhaven 58-53 and are likely to be the best team Hiland has faced this season.

"They're not even close to what they were last year," Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said. "They could probably win in all four divisions."

Last year, it took a historic effort from beyond the arc for the Hawks, but they coasted to a lopsided win.

This year, the Nubians are hoping to stop the Hawks from raining 3-pointers on them.

It's the main concern of Africentric coach William McKinney.

"Their shooting," he said, "They set a lot of screens and they don't get rattled on offense. If we don't play mature defensively, we could be in for a long night."

The Nubians, who beat Waterford 79-40 in the evening's opener, figure it will be another fast paced game against the Hawks.

"It's going to be a very exciting game," McKinney said. "They can still shoot that ball."

A ROUGH ROAD - While Africentric has taken the best Columbus has to offer, the Hawks have played some pretty good teams themselves.

In Div. II, River View is still alive.

The Bears were one of two teams to beat the Hawks this season.

The other was Trinity, who is coming off an upset of No. 1 Regina in the Div. III tournament.

And one of Hiland's victims, rival Garaway, is still very much alive at this point in Div. III.

BACK FROM SCHOOL - The four seniors - Leah and Launa Hochstetler, Reanna Burke and Katie Conn - from Hiland's 2005 state title game were in attendence for the battle against Trimble.

And they liked what they saw.

"It reminded me a lot of the Africentric game last year," Launa Hochstetler said. "There was no way our girls were going down like that.

"When our shots started going down and we wore on Trimble, I knew we were in good shape."

The Hochstetlers are coming off their first year at Valparaiso.

Leah had trouble getting playing time but Launa got serious minutes.

The freshman was backup at point guard and senior Lauren Bechtold will be gone next season.

That means there could be a Hochstetler in the starting lineup next season.

The two were in attendence because they are currently on spring break.

They lost Monday in the Mid-Continent Conference tournament, making their inactivity at last night's game more unbearable.

"It was fun to watch," Launa said. "But I still wanted to go out and play."

Courtesy The Daily Record, Wooster, Ohio