Daily Record Sports Writer
GNADENHUTTEN -- Hiland's reign atop the Eastern District was ended Tuesday at Indian Valley by undefeated Shadyside.
The 23-0 Tigers overcame a sluggish start to pull out a 54-50 triumph over the seven-time defending district champion Hawks.
"They've been on top as long as I can remember," said Shadyside girls basketball coach Tina Yates. "Each game gets bigger from here, but now that we've got this off our shoulders, we can just go out and play."
Hiland (18-5) came out strong, scoring the first seven points of the game as Shadyside misfired on its first four shots.
"We definitely had some nerves kicking in at the start, but once we settled down, we started making some big shots," Yates said. "We were able to overcome that by halftime. And we were able to do just enough to hold on."
After jumping out to a 15-9 lead after the first eight minutes, Hiland managed only three points in the second period as the Tigers roared back to take a 23-18 advantage at the half.
Karli Bonar buried a 3-pointer to beat the buzzer at the break to extend the lead to five and give Shadyside a huge dose of momentum going into the second half.
McKenzie Miller had a big first quarter, scoring seven of the Hawks' first nine points, but picked up her second foul early in the second quarter and watched the rest of the first half from the sidelines.
"I told them from day one, we'll get what we deserve," Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said. "And I think, I'm not saying we could've won that game. We very much could have. We planned on it. We needed some other people to step up in addition to McKenzie Miller, but you look up at the board and see one kid with 28, and two or three zeros up there.
"McKenzie didn't play in the second quarter because of foul trouble," the coach continued. "Whenever she's out of the game, we struggle to score. We gave up that three at the end of the quarter. Every time we had a big play, they hit a big shot.
"We didn't lose this game tonight, we lost it in June and July," Schlabach added. "We turned the ball over six of the last seven possessions of the second quarter. That's lack of skill, lack of confidence."
And Shadyside had momentum on its side.
The Tigers were able to withstand every Hiland run by answering with a big shot of their own, maintaining a 4-point, 39-35 lead into the fourth quarter.
Miller, who finished with 28 points, stroked a 3-pointer to trim the lead to one to open the fourth quarter, but again, the Tigers answered, scoring inside by Sarah Neavin and out on another Bonar triple. She finished with 14 points, knocking down four 3-pointers.
"Everybody contributed. Everybody had a key bucket. That's why it's a team sport," Yates said. "We got key rebounds, a key pass, a key assist. Everybody on the floor stepped up and played well. We've handled the press well all season, and we've been able to get some key buckets out of it. We're an up-tempo team, so pressing actually works in our favor."
The Tigers only turned the ball over five times, and were led by Hayley Holenka with 19 points. She also added four assists.
"I thought Holenka hurt us off the dribble," Schlabach said. "We tried to take away the 3s, and that gave her room to try and create."
"It feels pretty amazing. Beating Hiland was one of our goals this summer, and we achieved it," Holenka said. "We play well as a team, helping each other out. Tonight my shots went in, but other times, theirs were going in, too."
The Hawks closed to within one three times in the fourth quarter, but each time Shadyside had an answer, which is why it is moving on.
"Again, to their credit, we thought we could wear them down, but we didn't make them take long enough possessions," Schlabach said. "We'd only given up 28 points a game all season, and we gave up 54."
Hiland trailed by five, 53-48, with less than a minute to play.
On three possessions, two missed triples and a Missy Mast stickback were all Hiland could come up with, as the season drew to a close.
No other players reached double figures for Hiland. Regina Hochstetler, who stroked a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers, finished with eight. Mast chipped in with six points and seven boards. Miller grabbed nine rebounds to lead Hiland's rebounding effort.
"We've got (almost) all our kids back, but they are the same players," Schlabach said. "It's decision time for a lot of those kids. What kind of players do they want to become. We've got to have an additional playmaker step forward over the next year.
"I thought our seniors, Ashley Weaver and Arrianna Schrock, had a really good year. They're good kids."
