Ugly is just fine for Hiland fans

By ZACH BOLINGER
Daily Record Sports Writer

COLUMBUS - Hiland's performance in the Div. IV state semifinals was not visually appealing.

In fact, Hawks coach Dave Schlabach dubbed Thursday's performance U-G-L-Y.

Considering the outcome, the Hiland faithful are fine with that.

Lindsay Stuckey scored a game-high 18 points, Rachel Thomas finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Hiland made 24-of-33 free throws in a game that had 45 foul calls, as the defending state champion Hawks turned it on in the fourth quarter for a 49-47 victory over Fort Loramie at Value City Arena.

"I continually remind our kids that we are an ugly looking team, but it's OK as long as we defend and rebound," Schlabach said. "Our shots didn't drop again, and we turned it over too much, but we got stops early in the fourth quarter and that was the difference.

"We have a toughness about us ... and a bunch of kids who bear down in the fourth quarter and understand possession by possession what it takes to get the job done."

Hiland had just one field goal in the final 10 1/2 minutes, but now advances to Saturday's championship game against East Canton. The Wizards trailed by 12 early in the second half to Hamler Patrick Henry, but won 65-63 in overtime.

Fort Loramie (24-3) led 39-37 entering the final quarter and 41-39 with more than 5 1/2 minutes remaining. But Hiland (25-2) held the Redskins scoreless for the next four minutes, taking a 47-41 lead with 1:53 to play before holding on.

"It was the war we expected," Schlabach said. "I told people all week that we haven't played a team as similar to us as they were. But our defense got turned up one notch in the first five minutes or so of the fourth quarter, which was as good as we've played defensively all year."

Hiland, which shot 37 percent from the floor and turned it over 19 times, also received 10 points and six rebounds from Jena Stutzman. The sharpshooter was a mere 1-of-9 from the floor, including 0-of-6 on 3-pointers. The team was 12-of-32 total and 1-of-10 on 3-pointers.

Stutzman got the free throw line (8-of-11), though, which was the story of Hiland's victory.

The Hawks made 10-of-14 charity attempts in the final stanza alone and 18-of-26 in the second half. Fort Loramie was called for 26 fouls and Hiland 19. Both teams were in the double bonus with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

"It was more of a physical game than I anticipated," Fort Loramie coach Carla Siegel said. "There was a lot of pushing and shoving and a lot of moving screens and elbows on their part. We weren't expecting it to be that way, but they did a great job getting us in foul trouble. It's uncharacteristic for our team to put an opponent on the line more than 30 times."

Stutzman drove baseline and was hacked, making two free throws to tie the game at 41 with exactly 5:00 remaining. Fort Loramie then turned it over on four of its next five possessions, with Thomas scoring in the post at 4:23 and making 3-of-4 free throw attempts at 3:37 and 2:11.

Stutzman split a pair of free throws with 1:53 left after another Redskins turnover - six of their 15 handouts came in the fourth quarter - and Fort Loramie didn't have another shot for the lead or tie.

"Because of the foul trouble, we totally got out of our rotation," Siegel added. "We can't control that aspect, but one thing we can control, and didn't, was the rebounding. We focused on it Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but from the first quarter on Hiland took it to us."

The Hawks finished with a 33-24 edge on the glass, as Thomas, Krista Beechy (five points, six rebounds), Stutzman and Stuckey all finished with five rebounds or better. Thomas had two stickback hoops in the first quarter, as 12 of Hiland's 25 first-half points were via the second chance.

"From the scouts I had talked to and the film I had seen, I didn't expect that from Hiland at all," Siegel said. "They came out motivated with an intent on staking their ground, and I think they did."

Another Thomas putback kept Hiland ahead by three early in the third quarter, but Courtney Reed and Mallory Albers combined to score Fort Loramie's final 14 third-quarter points. Their effort in the final 5:18 of the stanza gave the Redskins the lead, but it didn't stick despite all of Hiland's struggles.

"I didn't feel like we got into a rhythm offensively for any of the 32 minutes," Schlabach said. "We were just hoping to defend, rebound and then go down and try to get a good look at the other end."

Courtesy The Daily Record, Wooster, Ohio