Hiland coach Dave Schlabach has seen this show before: His Lady Hawks take a big lead over a top-ranked team in a high stakes game, only to squander that advantage and eventually lose.

It happened last March against No. 1 Columbus Africentric in the Division IV state final and again this January against national power Potter's House in Classic in the Country VII.

And last Thursday, history once again repeated itself.

Super sophomore Nirra Fields seemingly could do no wrong, scoring 31 points with 12 rebounds. Reigning Division III state champion Regina bounced back from a 14-point hole in the third quarter and held-off Hiland in the final minute for a 60-46 win at the Perry Reese Jr. Community Center.

Fields, a nationally ranked sophomore who transferred to Regina from Montreal this season, broke a 54-all tie with a deep 3 with 46 seconds to go, giving the Royals the lead for good.

Bowling Green recruit Noelle Yoder hit a pair of foul shots with 9.4 seconds left to cut the Hiland deficit to 1 (57-56). But Sharday Baines, who only played the final minute of the game, hit a free throw and then after a Hiland turnover, proceeded to hit two more to wrap-up the win for Regina.

"I'm sure we'll feel like we got some good things out of this later," Schlabach said, "but tonight we're just not willing to feel good about it. We have to regroup and not let this game effect us.

"... Our intention was to win tonight. And our kids came out ready to do that, and play hard enough to do that. But we just didn't finish, especially at the defensive end," the Hiland coach added.

Regina coach Pat Diulus summed up the win pretty easily, saying "We're a championship team, and we showed that in the second half."

"We were what, 14 down, and we haven't been 14 down in five years," added the 25-year coach, who won six Division III state titles at Regina and nine overall. "These are two great teams. And it wouldn't be a shock to see these two in Columbus in another six weeks."

Hiland is used to intimidating teams with its smothering press. However, when the Lady Hawks were on the receiving end of the Royals' pressure, they didn't respond well, turning the ball over 17 times. "We gave them confidence to keep pressuring us," Schlabach said. "We want people to pressure us. That's when we think we're at our best. But tonight we didn't handle that."

Yoder, who hadn't played or practiced in 12-days with a left MCL sprain, scored eight points to fuel a 14-4 run that bridged the first and second halves and pushed the Lady Hawks ahead 14 (41-27) with 6:11 left in the third quarter.

Despite the injury, Yoder looked just fine, scoring 27 points on 9 of 13 shooting, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

"Noelle had a phenomenal three quarters... She hadn't played in 12-days," Schlabach said. "She is such a competitor it's unbelievable."

Florida State signee Tay'ler Mingo, who was held scoreless in the first half, had five quick points, including a sweet pull-up with 36 seconds to go, to help ignite a 7-0 spurt and pull the Royals to 48-43 after three quarters.

The Royals had the momentum - and they knew it.

Mingo picked off a bad Hiland pass and went coast-to-coast to make it a three point game (49-46) and jump start yet another Regina run. Fields had five, and Mingo added three before the Lady Hawks had a chance to respond. But by that time, the Royals were up 54-51 with 2:15 to go.

McKenzie Miller hit a 3-pointer with 1:29 remaining to make it 54-all.

Schlabach said his Lady Hawks need to get better at stopping the run.

"We talk about how we ended last season and our inability to stop the run and put people away," the 19-year coach said. "Unless you bring it out in the open, you won't be able to handle it."

Mingo regrouped after a rough first half to score 13 points with four steals for Regina, winners of 11-straight.

Regina, ranked No. 10 in the Midwest Region by ESPN Rise, shot 39 percent (23 of 59) from the floor, 29 percent (5 of 17) from 3-point range and 82 percent (9 of 11) from the line.

The Lady Hawks, on the other hand, made 46 percent (18 of 39) of their field goals, 47 percent (8 of 17) of their 3-pointers and 86 percent (12 of 14) of their foul shots.

Hiland (15-2, No. 3 Div. IV), which had its five-game win streak snapped, struggled to find a consistent second scorer. Miller, Hilary Weaver and Jessica Stutzman each scored seven points.

Yoder had four points, and Hiland jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Hiland’s picture perfect opener, however, quickly vanished.

Fields scored 12 points to spur a 14-5 run, including a 3-pointer off a Mingo feed that tied the game at 12-all and a pull-up jumper that gave the Royals their first lead of the game.

The Lady Hawks had the last laugh, scoring seven unanswered points to take a 21-18 lead after one quarter. Yoder scored all seven of Hiland's points during the final minute of the period.

"This felt like a tournament game," Schlabach said. "And I felt like our kids felt that, and they need to feel like that more because we will be in this situation again."

Including Classic in the Country, Regina (15-2) - the second-ranked team in Division III in the latest Associated Press girls' basketball poll - improved to 11-2 in the Reese Center, winning its last 11.

"We haven't lost a game here in a long time - we like to play here," said Diulus, whose Royals went 27-0 enroute to another championship a year ago. "The people treat us so well. And the thing that is most inspiring for our kids and our folks is how much they respect girls' basketball. It's a great atmosphere."

Following the season, Regina - an all-girls school - will dissolve, essentially making all coaches and players "free agents."

"They can go wherever they want to go without any penalties," Diulus said.