All season long, Hiland coach Dave Schlabach has told his troops that for the Lady Hawks to return to Columbus, they would have to go through Lutheran East.

In the Division IV Regional semifinal against the Falcons on Thursday, March 11, at Massillon Perry High School, Lutheran East proved to be as good as advertised, taking the lead from the opening tip and never looking back.

"The way the game was going, the only way we were going to win that thing was just like we won it. Something special had to happen at the end of the game," Schlabach said.

And that something special was a 3-pointer from the corner by Noelle Yoder as time expired in regulation to tie the game at 44 and send it into overtime.

Lutheran East had led essentially the entire game, only to see the Lady Hawks even the score as time expired.

Deflated by the turn of events, the Falcons came out flat in the overtime and the Lady Hawks, rejuvenated by the last-second heroics, jumped all over Lutheran East in the extra session.

Hiland scored the first seven points in the OT en route to a 57-52 triumph and a berth in the Regional championship game on Saturday against Cuyahoga Heights. The Redskins also won in overtime, edging Lowellville 40-39.

"Amazing. That was an amazing finish," Schlabach said. "I was impressed with Lutheran East. The stuff we got on them last year just didn't go tonight. They did a much better job and were a little more prepared.

"We told the kids at the beginning of the summer, if you want to go to Columbus, you've got to go through Lutheran East," the coach continued. "We felt they were one of the top two teams in the state. Their size is just incredible. They're not just big, they're like athletic college players... college guys."

The Falcons used their size and athleticism to open up a 5-0 lead after forcing Hiland into turnovers on its first three possessions. On two separate trips down the floor, Lutheran East got three shots at the basket as they controlled the paint.

Point guard Darria Baker buried two 3-pointers in the first quarter to help the Falcons maintain their lead. Yoder hit a pair of first-quarter threes as well to help Hiland pull within one, 13-12, after one.

Baker stroked another triple and Amber Bogard added a deep shot for Lutheran East, which opened up a 23-19 lead at the half.

"We went through all five of our presses, and all four of our half-court sets. We just couldn't find an answer for their size. And then, they just knocked down shots," Schlabach said. "We told our kids their point guard (Baker) is a slasher and we've got to take away penetration, so bing, bing, bing, she hits three threes on us. I thought they played with so much confidence, they deserve a lot of credit. Last year we got them in foul trouble. This year we couldn't. They played really smart. I don't remember getting a good shot in the first half. We had a tough time getting a good look. Their zone defense really gave us trouble. We couldn't go inside and they moved us off the 3-point line three or four feet."

Back-to-back three-point plays to open the second half helped the Falcons open their largest lead at 29-21,and their lead was nine, 33-24 when Bria Eslick hit a layup midway through the frame.

Hannah Stoneman answered with a three-point play, and Yoder had back-to-back layups, and then hit a 3-pointer to pull the Lady Hawks back within one as time ran down in the third quarter.

Freshman Mercedes Hudson scored for the Falcons, but a pair of Hilary Weaver free throws pulled Hiland back within one as the third quarter ended.

"Hannah Stoneman played fantastic. The last six games of the season she played JV basketball. She was the one kid who gave us a lot of size out there, and I thought she played with a lot of confidence."

Hiland had the ball and a chance to take its first lead to open the fourth quarter but came up empty. Bogard stroked a 3-pointer, and Kiarra Jones followed with her own triple and the lead was back to seven for the Falcons with just under five minutes to play in the fourth period.

Yoder hit a triple for the Lady Hawks and Katelyn Stuckey scored her first basket of the game to pull Hiland back within two with 1:53 remaining in regulation.

Jones missed the front end of a one-and-one bonus from the foul line and Yoder had a crack at a bucket but could not connect.

Lutheran East misfired at the other end and Jessica Stutzman got a shot at a layup, but it wouldn't fall with 21 seconds remaining.

Hiland fouled immediately, and Hudson was unable to hit the free throw, giving Hiland another opportunity to tie as time ran down.

Stutzman drove in for another layup attempt but was denied, and in the ensuing scrum for the loose ball, University of Xavier-bound post player Latisha Walker was fouled with five seconds remaining.

"I felt we blew a couple chances there, when it was a two-point game, when we had two consecutive possessions to tie the score, and we didn't. They missed a free throw," Schlabach said. "With them, everything's a question mark. You can't assume they're going to miss the free throw and you are going to get the rebound. You've got to somehow check off two six-three monsters."

Walker missed the first one and swished the second to put the Falcons up three, 44-41, with five seconds left in regulation.

During the ensuing timeout, Schlabach called for the home run play.

"We call that play 'Home run'. We call the home run play for when there are four or five seconds on the clock," Schlabach said. "It's nice, the kids came to the huddle, we said we're running the home run play, they've run it a hundred times this year. The last thing I heard as we're leaving the huddle is Hilary telling the team, 'guys, we're winning the game.' She refuses to think she can get beat.

"This summer Noelle hit three game winners at different venues," Schlabach continued. "We ran that play twice this summer, and both times she hit game-winning shots. Ball in the air... buzzer going off... she's the type of kid who wants the ball so bad in that situation.

"It took a phenomenal pass by Jess (Stutzman), a great catch and push up the floor by Hil (Weaver), who delivered the ball right on target to Noelle. It did not surprise me that it went in."

Falcons coach Melvin Burke said when that shot went down, so did his team's spirits.

"To be honest, I felt we did let down, but we usually come back, like we did in other games," Burke said. "This time we couldn't.

"I did feel we were a little deflated after that, because we gave up that shot, when we're up three with five seconds left after controlling the entire game," the coach added. "It comes down to being disciplined. We went for a steal when we shouldn't have, and we could have won the game. We missed layups and missed free throws. We weren't disciplined enough to pull through."

After Yoder's shot gave Hiland new life, the Lady Hawks seemed to play with an extra bounce in their step, while the Falcons were back on their heels.

Hilary Weaver stepped in front of a Lutheran East player and stole the tip from jump to open the overtime.

Stutzman was fouled on a drive to the hoop and swished both free throws to give Hiland its first lead of the game at 46-44.

After a Falcon turnover, Weaver drove in for a three-point play and Hiland was up 49-44.

Lutheran East had three cracks at scoring on its next possession but came up empty. Weaver then hit a pair of free throws to put Hiland up 51-44 with 1:51 remaining in the extra session.

Eslick scored and Weaver split a pair of free throws, making it 52-46 Hiland.

Jones connected on a long bomb and the Falcons were back within three at 52-49 with 45 seconds remaining.

Weaver swished a pair of free throws and Jones split a pair at the other end. Weaver again swished two more from the charity stripe to all but seal the deal, giving Hiland a 56-50 lead with 20 seconds remaining.

Walker scored a stickback, but Stutzman split a pair of free throws with two seconds to go to secure the 57-52 victory.

Schlabach credited the play of his seniors for willing Hiland to victory.

"The Lindsay Stuckeys and Jena Stutzmans... there are certain kids who will their teams to victory, and we've got some seniors who can do just that," he said. "I told Hilary I'm not ready to watch her play her last game. I love that kid and what she's given to the program.

"We're in a very vulnerable spot," the coach continued. "Coming back Saturday off a high like that, we've got to watch out for a letdown. But, we've got Hilary Weaver on our team, so I don't think I have to worry too much."

Weaver led Hiland with 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists. She became the all-time leader in assists with 589, surpassing Launa Hochstetler.

Yoder finished with 21 for the winners, who improved to 24-2 on the season.  Yoder hit five-of-10 shots from beyond the arc, eight-of-17 overall. She also added six rebounds and three assists.

Stutzman finished with seven and Stoneman added five. Stuckey rounded out the Hiland offensive with two points.

Bogard paced the Falcons with 16 and Walker added 10 points to go with seven rebounds and three blocked shots.