GNADENHUTTEN, OH -- Hiland claimed its 10th girls' district championship Friday night.

But Strasburg made the Hawks work for it.

State-ranked Hiland used a pair of runs in the third quarter and late in the fourth quarter to record a 63-42 win over Strasburg in the Division IV title game at Indian Valley.

The Hawks, ranked No. 2 in the state, improved to 22-2 on the season and will play the winner of today's contest between Lutheran East and Kirtland next Thursday at 8 p.m. in the regional semifinals at Perry High near Massillon.

Meanwhile, the Tigers ended up with an 18-6 ledger on the season -- half of their losses coming to the Hawks.

However, they earned a lot of respect from Hiland coach Dave Schlabach.

"We knew it was going to be a war," said Schlabach. "We were very concerned about this game.

"Strasburg has been playing as well as they have all year and I told Coach (Chad) Bonifant after the game we've been all over the state and I feel like they're a top 10 team," added Schlabach. "They are a really, really solid team."

The Tigers' coach felt good about the kudos.

"I think we earned their respect, that's for sure," said Bonifant. "He (Dave) said he's seen a lot of teams play and we would be ranked in the top 10 in the state. Our kids played hard and they played smart. We just didn't have things go our way. They have nothing to be ashamed of."

The Hiland senior guard tandem of Hilary Weaver and Noelle Yoder led the way as Weaver scored 20 points and Yoder added 18, while senior Jessica Stutzman had 10.

"I thought our seniors really played well and our underclassmen are finally giving a good mix for us, and I thought Jessica Stutzman played the best game of her career," noted Schlabach. "At this time of year, you have to get really good performances."

Strasburg got 20 points from senior Carly Clark while Nikki Cregan was the next highest scorer with seven. Santana Bonifant was held to a basket, but she had a solid defensive floor game.

Strasburg held Hiland to 39-percent shooting (19 of 49) from the field, but the Hawks converted 22 of 28 free throws for 79 percent, including a 9-of-12 showing in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers were 18 of 39 from the field for 46 percent, but made just 5 of 12 free throws for 42 percent.

Hiland started off slow as the Hawks missed their first 10 shots and had three turnovers, but recovered to take a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and extended their lead to 28-19 at the intermission.

Strasburg closed to within 32-26 nearing the midway point of the third quarter, but Yoder drilled a triple to get things going and Weaver and Stutzman contributed to a 16-2 burst to put the Hawks up 48-28.

"Those two guards are pretty tough," said Bonifant. "They're pretty good basketball players."

The Tigers didn't fold up the tents and play the string out as Clark spurred Strasburg to within 52-39 with 3:35 to play, but the Hawks responded with another patented run that eventually pushed their lead back out to 23 as they settled on the 21-point victory.

Hiland forced Strasburg into 24 turnovers, while making just 14.

"They should go the distance," said Bonifant of the Hawks. "We'll be rooting for them."