CHAMPIONS AGAIN!
Hiland finds itself, wins third state title

By ZACH BOLINGER
Daily Record Sports Writer

COLUMBUS - Hiland embraced a new identity this season.

The Hawks don't have to change their title, though. They are still Div. IV state champions.

Jena Stutzman made a Div. IV state tournament record five 3-pointers en route to 24 points, Player of the Year Lindsay Stuckey added 17 points and Hiland - a team which devoted itself to defense and rebounding and abandoned the "Berlin Bomber" look - beat East Canton 59-54 in the small school state-title game Saturday.

Lydia Miller added nine points for Hiland and Rachel Thomas had eight points and eight rebounds, as the Hawks finished 26-2 and became the ninth school in Ohio history to win back-to-back state championships. They defended the title claimed with an overtime victory against Ottoville in 2005.

Hiland's crown is its third overall, becoming just the 12th school with three titles or more. East Canton (24-3) was denied its first state championship and has now finished as runner-up in both Final Four appearances.

"At the beginning of the season, I think we tried to be too much like last year's team," Stuckey said. "It took us a while to realize we weren't the same team, that we would have to do it another way. We knew that every game would be a battle."

Saturday's championship contest was no different, as Hiland trailed by as many as 12 points in the opening half and was down six more than halfway through the third quarter. But Stutzman and Stuckey provided offense over the final 11 1/2 minutes and the Hiland defense clamped down - forcing five turnovers and frustrating the Wizards into 5-of-19 shooting.

"We did what we did to get down here, which was run that match-up zone and pressure the ball and shoot it when we could, but it got away from us at the end," East Canton coach Tom Davis said. "We have to congratulate (Hiland coach) Dave Schlabach and his fine program. I can't imagine going back-to-back, but they did it. They did everything they had to do to win."

Hiland needed just 46 seconds to score the first four points of the fourth quarter, as Thomas' spinning left-handed finish and Stuckey's tough drive gave Hiland its first lead (47-43) since 10-9 with 3:22 left in the first quarter.

East Canton closed to within two on two separate occasions in the final stanza - the last at 51-49 on sophomore guard Caitlin Sharp's 3-pointer - but Hiland countered by scoring eight of the next 10 points to put it away.

"At the end of the game, we had five kids out on the floor looking to make big plays," Schlabach said. "We slipped out on every screen, we checked out, we handled the ball and we made free throws. We also attacked well.

"The key to attacking any type of zone is spacing, and once we knew exactly what they were going to do, we did a good job with that," Schlabach added. "We got Lindsay the ball in the middle and we'll take her one-on-one against anybody at any time. They had two kids on the bottom line of their defense in foul trouble and that was an important part of the game."

With the Wizards' Katy Arick and Vanessa Gantz saddled with four fouls each, Stuckey and Stutzman got the ball in the high post on three straight possessions. They drove to the hoop and converted each time, and when Miller leaked out after an East Canton missed 3-pointer and was fouled on a breakaway attempt - making two free throws for a 59-51 lead with 1:48 to play - the deal was basically sealed.

"I was still aggressive, but when Stuckey drove the lane I couldn't jump. I couldn't even really move, because if I foul I'm done," said Arick, an All-Ohioan who played the final quarter with four fouls. "I tried to play good defense, but I couldn't body up to her because they might call it. If that happened, I was done."

A lot of East Canton being "done in," was due to the hot hand of Stutzman.

Factoring in the two state tournament games of a season ago, and then the semifinal this season, Stutzman was 1-of-29 shooting from the floor and 1-of-16 from 3-point range. The sophomore hit two deep 3s in the first three minutes Saturday and plenty of big shots down the stretch, finishing 9-of-17 total and 5-of-10 from beyond the arc.

"I think today I came in with a whole different confidence level," Stutzman said. "I knew I hadn't shot well down here, but I didn't let it get to me. They were playing us zone, so whenever I was open I just fired away."

Sharp hit three 3-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead East Canton, which also received 16 points from Arick and seven points and six rebounds from Gantz. The Wizards looked to tire in the last half of the fourth quarter, when Hiland went to a full-court, diamond press.

"We had only pressed man in the first half, and obviously that was something that wasn't clicking," Schlabach said. "When we were going through our list of defenses, I wasn't sure the diamond was the right answer, but we had to do something to turn the tide."

Now, Hiland's storied program has turned the page to another championship.

Courtesy The Daily Record, Wooster, Ohio