By DAVE MAST

"I'm sure we have some surprised people out there if they saw us half way through the year," said Hiland coach Dave Schlabach. "We struggled; we lost seven of our last 10 games against quality opponents, but we were still coming up with new ways to lose.

"This group has really regrouped, and committed itself. This bunch of senior leaders has really stepped up the past couple of weeks. I think there have been years when we were expecting to get down here. This probably isn't one of those years."

If the Lady Hawks were intimidated by a 25-1 team with perhaps the most dominant player in Div. IV, they didn't show it.

After Krystal Falknor hit a jumper to start the game, the Lady Hawks went to work, reeling off nine straight, capped by a 3-pointer by McKenzie Miller.

Hiland led 12-10 after one, and fell behind mid way through the second quarter before rallying for a 28-23 lead at the midway point.

Hiland extended that lead to 41-33 heading into the fourth quarter, getting a couple of buckets from Meagan Hall and actually opening up a 10-point lead on a Regina Hochstetler 3-pointer.

However, with Hiland leading by eight with 3:44 to play, the Lady Patriots began fouling, and Hiland started missing free throws. Miller missed two front ends of one-and-ones, and Emily Yoder missed one too, allowing Tri-Village to creep back into the game. However, after Miller split as pair of free throws and Kayla Linkous made two, Hiland's lead had shrunk to 47-45 with 1:25 to play.

Yoder split a pair for a three point edge, and then Jasmine Goings came away with a huge steal with 48 seconds to play. Yoder then went down and sank both free throws for a five-point advantage. Linkous made two charity tosses with 34 seconds to play to cut the Hiland lead to 50-47, but Regan Miller gave Hiland a four-point edge with a free throw.

Tri-Village then had to settle for a long 3-pointer with 17 seconds to play by Teha Richards which was off the mark, and McKenzie Miller was fouled. Miller calmly knocked down both free throws, and when she cleared the rebound on the other end following a Lexie Bruner miss. She came out of the pack with a mile-wide grin on her face.

Hiland had continued its improbable run to the Div. IV State final with a 53-47 victory.

"I don't know that we have played a team that played the game as hard as Hiland did," said Lady Patriots head coach Brad Gray. They play the game the right way, and that is why they are here so much."

McKenzie Miller said following the game that the Lady Hawks simply did not want their season to end any sooner than it should.

"You want your senior year to end on the 28th game of the year," said Miller. "I feel really blessed and very thankful that my teammates got me here as a senior."

Miller led the Lady Hawks with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Regina Hochstetler scored 14 and Goings added seven.

How the game was won.

Cleaning the glass

By halftime, Hiland held a 17-6 advantage in rebounding, snaring 11 off the offensive side. At game's end, the Lady Hawks won the battle on the glass 35-21.

"Had we rebounded better, we would probably be doing the first interview instead of the second one," said Gray of the losing team interviewing with the press following the victor. We knew coming in that we would have to rebound and keep them off the offensive glass to have a chance, because they are very active. We didn't do that very well."

Face guarding Thomas

Tri-Village's incredible point guard Shaye Thomas had a tremendous first half, scoring 10 points with four assists. Coach Schlabach decided to shut her down in the second half, opting to face guard her and deny her the ball, effectively disrupting the Lady Patriots' offensive flow. He did so by having Emily Yoder and Regan Miller do the yeoman's work on stopping the elusive point guard, and forced the Lady Patriots to find other ways to score.

It worked, Thomas being held scoreless with two assists in the second half, Schlabach calling his point guard Yoder annoying... in a good way.

"I really enjoy defense," said Yoder. "I am stronger on defense, and it is a lot of fun annoying their players."

An answer for everything

Every time Tri-Village made a big play, Hiland responded, whether it was a 3-pointer by McKenzie Miller or Regina Hochstetler, a big bucket inside from Jasmine Goings, an offensive rebound by Regan Miller or a defensive stop from Meagan Hall.

"We seemed to step up and make plays when we needed to," said Schlabach. "I think that shows how much confidence we have as a team right now."

The missing Linkous

Kayla Linkous, who scored 61 points in one tournament game, and averaged about 26 points and 13 rebounds per game this season, was turned into a bystander in the first half by the relentless Lady Hawks defense. Hiland chose to front Linkous and then provide help over the top on the lob, and held the player of the year to zero points and two rebounds in the first half. In fact, Linkous did not score at all until there was 3:25 left to play in the third quarter.

Linkous got hers in the second half, scoring 18 points and hauling down 10 rebounds, but those numbers were well below what she has put up all year.

"We wanted to play her really physical in the post," said Schlabach. "A lot of people let her catch the ball. Well, every time she catches the ball it's over, so we wanted to front her and stop the lob over the top with backside help. Stopping her was a team effort."

The Patriots zone

Yes, a lack of depth forced the Lady Patriots into playing zone, a defense which has been ill-suited to stop Schlabach's Lady Hawks during his 20 years. You can probably count on one hand the number of teams which have beaten Hiland with a zone over the past two decades.

This one turned into another win, Hiland hitting a State Div. IV record eight 3-pointers. Tri-Village also connected eight times, both teams tying the State record, and setting the combined team record of 16 treys.

McKenzie Miller tied the Div. IV State semifinal record for threes by an individual with four.

Regina's five-point play

With Hiland trailing 23-20 late in the second quarter, Regina Hochstetler stepped into a 3-pointer and drained it, tying the game. As the shot fell through, she was fouled on the floor, creating a 1-and-1 situation. Hochstetler made both, and when McKenzie Miller popped in a triple with three seconds to play in the half, Hiland held a 28-23 edge, scoring eight straight over the final 80 seconds to head into the half with a five-point edge.