Daily Record Sports Writer
COLUMBUS — They may have remembered to shut out the lights when they left Holmes County to come to Columbus for the state championship game on Saturday, but somebody forgot to shut the back door.
Arlington High School took advantage of the wide open back door, scoring several uncontested layups and open jumpers in building a big lead en route to a 52-37 triumph over Hiland in the Div. IV state championship game Saturday morning in the Value City Arena at Schottenstein Center on the campus of The Ohio State University.
Arlington's defense also gave Hiland the devil as the Red Devils ended the Hawks' impressive tournament run.
"With their defensive pressure, we knew we'd need to get the back doors," Arlington coach Seth Newlove said. "Our open offense without a post, I thought we could get those. Our girls just made good plays. I knew we had to execute and make good passes. That was part of the game plan. I thought we did a pretty good job of executing. I know (coach Dave Schlabach) was pretty mad when we scored them."
After a dazzling display of long-range shooting in the state semifinal, where Hiland set a state record for 3-pointers made with eight, the Hawks couldn't connect against Arlington. The Hawks made only 3-of-22 from beyond the arc. Their shooting from inside wasn't much better, as they finished 13-of-50 overall.
"We showed at different times during the year that we were capable of playing like that," Schlabach said. "We just hadn't done that the last seven games. We played extremely well. We kind of played to our potential. Today, we forced a lot of quick shots early on. They made us feel extremely uncomfortable."
The defensive pressure of the Red Devils befuddled the Hawks.
"It sounds cliché, but defensive pressure was it," Newlove said. "I didn't know if we could limit their penetration and hoped we didn't have to leave too much to help on their shooters. We defended the heck out of them, just like we've done all year."
Hiland found itself in a 10-point hole six-minutes into the first period, trailing 12-2. The Hawks hit only 2-of-10 shots in the first quarter and turned the ball over six times in falling behind 13-4 after one.
"We tip our caps to them. They made us feel extremely uncomfortable," Schlabach said. "We had the first rebound ripped out of our hands and they turned it into a layup. Their physical strength was too much. They executed and we didn't pressure the ball. They made plays early and got a lot of easy baskets."
The Hawks couldn't quite overcome the early jitters.
"They definitely had very intense pressure on us and it wasn't anything we hadn't seen before, but we didn't handle it with as much poise as we have done previously," senior Meagan Hall said.
The shooting woes for the Hawks continued into the second quarter, where Hiland hit one of its first six shots.
Arlington wasn't much better, however, making 1-of-3 with three turnovers, maintaining a 15-6 lead midway through the period.
The Hawks only managed one more field goal, a Jasmine Goings layup, and split four free throws the remainder of the first half. The Red Devils got balanced production and took advantage of Hiland's mistakes, like the big miscue right before the end of the first half.
The Hawks held for a last shot with 30 seconds remaining. They misfired on a 3-pointer, lost the rebound, and Dani Heaster turned it into a three-point play at the Arlington end to pour salt in Hiland's wounds. The Red Devils took a 26-10 lead into the locker room.
"We handled their pressure. They get after it and are really in your face," Newlove said. "We did a fine job of finding the open player. We did a great job of that today when they came to trap us. And we had some girls who don't usually carry us offensively have huge games. Dani Heaster hadn't led us in scoring all year and she had 13. She hit some huge shots in the first half.
"Joy (Reamsnyder) hit some big shots, and the two of them took really good care of the basketball," the coach continued.
Things didn't improve early in the second half.
Hiland was held scoreless through the first four minutes of the third quarter until McKenzie Miller knocked down a pair of free throws to cut into Arlington's 30-10 lead. The a three-point play by Regan Miller cut the Red Devils' lead in half, 30-15.
It was 35-19 after three, and Arlington scored to open the fourth.
Hiland didn't hit its first 3-pointer until Regina Hochstetler struck from the corner in the final quarter. By then, the Hawks were down 18 points, and they were never able to get much closer.
"We've defended the 3-point line really well all year," Newlove said.
No Hiland player reached double figures.
McKenzie Miller finished with nine points to lead the Hawks, who end their year with a 19-9 record. Hochstetler added eight and Hall chipped in six. Heaster's 13 led a quartet of Arlington players in double figures. Alivia Recker and Reamsnyder each added 11, and Amelia Recker added 10 points to go with 10 rebounds.
"It's disappointing. We played very well our last eight games, but I think our nerves got to us a little bit," McKenzie Miller said. "We didn't start out like we should've. All those errors in the beginning were just too much to overcome."
