MASSILLON, Ohio -- The magic ride came to a crashing halt Saturday for the Cuyahoga Heights Redskins.

They weren't supposed to beat Mogadore in the district final. They supposedly had no chance against Lowellville in the regional semifinals.

They won both of those games.

But it was asking a bit too much for Cuyahoga Heights to come up with another big upset, especially when facing Berlin Hiland, which believes it gave away the state title last year and is on a mission to right that wrong.

Sure enough, the Hawks dominated throughout, playing a wilting defense and dominating the boards on their way to a 43-22 victory in a Division IV regional final at Massillon Perry.

"They're by far the best team we have played," Cuyahoga Heights coach Al Martin said. "It had to be a perfect night for us to have a chance. We pretty much needed to hit everything. They make you play worse than you want because they're so good on defense."

Hiland, 24-2, took control from the start. After Cuyahoga Heights star Heidi Mervar drove to the basket on the Redskins' first possession, the score was tied at two just 34 seconds into the game.

That was the extent of the team's offense for the period.

Playing full-court, man-to-man defense, Hiland was more aggressive, more athletic and more physical, dictating the play and keeping the Redskins from running their offensive sets. The result was a 14-2 lead after one quarter and a huge mountain that was too tall to climb.

The player who made the difference was Hiland post player Katelyn Stuckey, who led all players with 14 points on a variety of inside moves.

According to Martin, that was by design. It was a matter of pick your poison, and Martin didn't want to see Bowling Green recruit Noelle Yoder (five points) or Hilary Weaver (six points) put on a show from beyond the arc.

"The idea was to shut down Yoder and Weaver, and we did that," Martin said. "We knew [Stuckey] was good, but if you don't stop the guards, they get it in threes."

In the end it was a great season for the Redskins, who finished 20-5 and made their first regional trip. It also brings about the end of a remarkable career for Mervar, who ended up second on the school's career scoring list with 1,279 points, just eight shy of the record.

"I've never known or coached or seen a player of her level who has been as consistently good as she has been for four years," Martin said. "She never had a bad night."