BERLIN — It's not often you find a happy coach after an 11-point loss, but Hiland's Dave Schlabach was all smiles Saturday night after the Hawks fell 47-36 to Africentric to cap off the first day of action at Classic in the Country.

"I'm pleased with enough things," Schlabach said. "We could've easily lost this game 50-8. McKenzie took advantage of her opportunity.

"I was disappointed how scared we played to start the game, but it didn't surprise me," Schlabach added.

The Hawks went 0-for-the-first quarter from the field in the opening eight minutes of action, but Africentric didn't fare much better (5-of-18), yet the Nubians managed to take a 13-2 lead after one. Meagan Hall hit a pair of free throws for Hiland's only points in the period.

From that point on, the game was even-steven.

It was 26-13 at the half and the Hawks pulled to within 11 after three, 39-28.

McKenzie Miller tried to inject some life into the Hawks and the home crowd after Aricentric's Kiyanna Black stroked three consecutive 3-pointers. The Hiland junior answered with four triples of her own to pull Hiland back within 11, 39-28 after three.

"My teammates were getting me the open looks, and setting all the screens," Miller said. "My point guards were giving me perfect passes. It was a team effort to do what we had to do to get it done. Even though we didn't quite get it done at the finish, I'm so proud of my team.

"I honestly didn't think about it," Miller continued. "I thought they were good. If you think 'ooh, that might be off,' it's going to be off. You just got to let it fly."

Miller scored her 20th point to open the fourth quarter and pull the Hawks to within 39-30, but Africentric answered with four straight to extend the lead back to 13, 43-30. Miller tacked on another score in the fourth quarter and finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

"We were down eight with three minutes to go, and you think about what we gave up in the first quarter," Schlabach said. "It came down to a three-possession game.

"I played more zone tonight than I played in the past 20 years combined," Schlabach continued. "We're looking for roles for our kids, and I think I found a defensive stopper there."

Ashley Weaver earned the coach's praise holding Africentric's Raven Ferguson to six points on 2-of-11 shooting.

"We found a role for a big-time player. We need to find those two, three and four scorers who will give me something on a nightly basis."

An overall assessment, Schlabach wasn't too upset.

"Twenty turnovers and boards, minus 10. We're not going to beat a good team if McKenzie scores 22 and nobody else, any of our role players, don't produce. We needed a shot to drop," Schlabach said. "I felt our kids continued to battle. McKenzie, we've been waiting for her to play well in a big game versus a big opponent. She did that and that's a plus."

Another positive the coach took away was the play of freshman point guard Emily Yoder.

"Without question, Emily grew up. I thought my freshman point guard played to her potential. She played 29 minutes and last year she was sitting in the stands as the second best eighth-grade point guard," Schlabach said. "I felt she learned a lot getting thrown in against that relentless pressure. She did some good things. She will take this game and it will fuel her to get better."

"They are well coached and play hard. They always push people," said Africentric coach Will McKinney.