Somebody forgot to tell the Lady Wildcats that they were supposed to be intimidated by the Lady Hawks.

The girls from Minster gave Hiland all it could handle in the Division IV State semifinal Friday afternoon in the Jerome Schottenstein Center on the campus of the Ohio State University.

Hiland needed every second of the 32-minute game to pull out a 49-48 victory over the Wildcats.

"I could've predicted it was going to be a battle," Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said. "We have so much respect for Nann (Stechshulte) and her program. This was very similar to our game against them here in 2004. It was a grind. We tried different things.

"They are so good defensively, they are so well-coached, it was kind of like our Regional semi game where it was going to take something special at the end," Schlabach continued. "There wasn't a lot of coaching going on there at the end. It was just our kids making a lot of plays; seniors refusing to get beat. Sometimes that senior group is what's the difference for us."

On a day when senior guards Noelle Yoder and Hilary Weaver combined for one of 10 3-point shots, it was senior Katelyn Stuckey who finished off the Wildcats with a layup bucket with 18 seconds remaining to put Hiland ahead 49-48 after the Lady Hawks trailed 48-41 with 2:50 remaining.

"It was just another layup," Stuckey said. "I didn't really think too much about it. We always practice that whenever one of the guards drive in, I should always be ready for a pass when the defense collapses on them. It's not a set play. We just read the defense."

Hiland had a hard time getting anything going all game offensively due to Minster's size and athleticism on the defensive end.

"We didn't get to run anything all day," Schlabach said. "They were so well-prepared. A lot of our scores just came off of putting kids in the right spots and letting them do their thing."

Point guard Weaver agreed.

"They knew all our sets. A lot of times when we would do our cuts, they would call it out before we got to make the cut. They were very well prepared.

"I think it just comes down to wanting it, and doing what you have to do to get yourself back in the game," Weaver added. "We just can't let ourselves think we're going to get beat. I think we all played together well. We were all on the same page."

"I feel a sense of confidence with this group," Schlabach said. "I’ve got such great leaders. These kids have all played four years. Jess (Stutzman) played a phenomenal game for us. That kid is hurting really, really bad. She physically helps will our team along sometimes. With a group like this, sometimes you just turn it over to them."

Yoder put Hiland up 2-0, but Maria Dahlinghaus answered with a triple. The game went back and forth the entire way, with the Wildcats eking out a lead 12-11 after the first quarter and 23-19 at the half.

Hiland came out in the third quarter and turned up the defensive intensity to pull ahead 32-31.

"I knew they were going to come back out and turn up the pressure… and they did," Minster mentor Nann Stechshulte said. "They jumped the ball right away and we turned it over. We had 15 turnovers and they had eight. They came at us the whole game, and we knew that was going to happen."

Weaver put Hiland up 34-31 with a driving layup to get the fourth quarter started, but Kayla Wuebker answered with a triple to tie things up at 34.

After a Hiland miss, Erica Fullenkamp scored to put the Wildcats up 36-34. Jessica Stutzman scored to tie things back up at 36.

McKenzie Miller answered a Minster score with a 3-pointer to give Hiland a 39-38 advantage with five minutes remaining in regulation.

"We're a different team when she's not in the game," Schlabach said of the sophomore McKenzie Miller. "She's so lanky and she's constantly looking to make plays. She made some huge plays for us in the second half."

Minster twice split a pair of free throws to go up 41-39, but Stuckey scored inside to knot things back at 41.

Delania Wolf scored and after a Hiland turnover, Wolf stroked a pair of free throws to give the Wildcats a 45-41 lead.

Another missed Hiland triple was answered by a swish for three by Dahlinghaus to give Minster a 48-41 advantage with 2:42 to play.

"We just needed to get back and play fundamental defense and get some stops," Schlabach said. "That little run we had with about two minutes where we got a couple quick buckets, to me, that's Hiland basketball, and hopefully we'll see a little more of that on Saturday."

Stuckey scored and after a Hiland time out, Hiland got a steal by McKenzie Miller, and Yoder scored on a stickback to trim the lead to 48-45 with 2:38 to play.

Weaver came up with a steal and Stutzman scored a pair of free throws to bring Hiland back within one, 48-47, with 1:54 left.

Minster ran more than a minute off the clock, but when they went inside to try and score, Stuckey came up with a steal, but the Lady Hawks couldn't capitalize, as 6-2 post Tara Clune knocked a pass away and Fullenkamp came away with the loose ball. She was fouled, but the junior missed both free throws and Hiland took over possession, trailing by one with 32 seconds to play.

Hiland worked it inside to Stuckey, who scored, but then the Lady Hawks had to defend the final 13 seconds without fouling.

Fullenkamp drove the lane, drew a few defenders and dished a pass to Clune, who misfired on an eight-footer and the Lady Hawks survived and advanced.

"With 30 seconds left, Hil (Weaver) looked over at me when they were shooting free throws," Schlabach said. "I told her this is what I want if they make them both; this is what I want if they don't. She just takes it from there."

Weaver led Hiland's balanced attack with 12 points and Yoder finished with 11. Miller added nine points and Stuckey chipped in eight. Stutzman finished with seven and Hannah Stoneman rounded things out with two points.

Dahlinghaus and Fullenkamp each scored 12 and Wolf added 11 for the Wildcats, who bow out with an 18-8 record.

"Both teams played pretty good defense," Stechshulte said. "I felt my girls made some great plays, and his kids made some great plays. When it came down to it, we had 15 turnovers, they had eight. They were 11-of-13 from the line and we were nine-for-16. It reminds me of a quote I've been telling the girls the last four weeks: free throws don't win all the games, just the close ones."