BERLIN—The Hiland girls needed a test to see how they measure up against one of the better teams in the Eastern District, and Wednesday's visit from the Garaway Pirates for an Inter-Valley Conference clash was just what the Hawks wanted.

On a night when Hiland's leading scorer McKenzie Miller didn't have her best night (four points), the Hawks had several other players step up to lift the Hawks over the Pirates 43-34 Wednesday in the Perry Reese Jr. Community Center.

"We need to start playing better," Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said. "Garaway is a great defensive team. It's always going to be a physical battle. They will challenge you. They're a good team. They are well-coached. They get after you. We have to take better care of the basketball."

The Hawks committed 14 turnovers while shooting 33 percent from the floor (12-of-36) including 3-of-15 from beyond the 3-point arc.

But the defensive pressure of the Hawks forced Garaway into 28 miscues, which helped Hiland run its record to 5-0 on the season.

"We had 28 turnovers," said first-year Garaway coach Adam Hall. "You give a team 28 extra possessions and it will cost you. I thought we played as well as we could in the first half."

The game was knotted at 15-15 after the first half of play.

While the Pirates had a hard time connecting with teammates, the Hawks had just as hard a time making shots.

Garaway led 4-0 after the first few minutes of the game before Regina Hochstetler canned a 3-pointer.

Jenica Schrock nailed a long ball to pull the Hawks even at six. A pair of Hochstetler free throws gave the hosts an 8-6 lead after one period.

The Pirates outscored Hiland 9-3 to open the second quarter, but buckets by Jasmine Goings and Meagan Hall evened the score at intermission.

"I thought Jenica Schrock gave us big minutes; Regina had a spurt, Meagan Hall had a little spurt; Jasmine (Goings) had a spurt," Schlabach said. "We're doing some different offensive things that just aren't working. We may have to re-evaluate what we're doing.

"We're a better defensive team this year than last, that's been a plus for us," the coach continued. "We can feel good about a win against a quality team. They showed us some weaknesses that we've got to continue to work on."

Hiland led 23-20 after three quarters, and opened the fourth frame on a 6-0 run as Schrock scored inside, a steal and layup by Hochstetler and a Regan Miller jumper gave the Hawks a 29-20 lead.

After a couple empty possessions by the Hawks and four free throws and an inside score by post Anya Misko, Garaway pulled to within three with six minutes left in the game.

Hall drilled a 3-pointer to extend the lead back to six, and then the Hawks cashed in on 9-of-12 trips to the free throw line down the stretch.

Hochstetler was the lone Hiland player to reach double figures, scoring 12. Hall finished with nine and Schrock added seven.

When the Pirates were able to get the ball up the court, they shot 50-percent from the field (13-of-26). Garaway (3-2 overall, 2-2 in the IVC) got 12 points from sophomore guard Courtney Putt and 10 from Misko.