Daily Record Sports Writer
UHRICHSVILLE — If familiarity truly breeds contempt, then the Hiland Hawks and Strasburg Tigers must really hate each other as the two Inter-Valley Conference foes met for the third time this season in the Div. IV sectional final Thursday at Claymont High School.
Hiland coach Dave Schlabach actually has a lot of respect for the Tigers and their third-year coach, Benton Bonanno.
But he didn't let that respect stop him from handing Strasburg its third loss of the year by the Hawks, who used their depth and the offensive prowess of Regina Hochstetler to turn back the Tigers 44-32.
The win advances Hiland (21-3) to the New Philadelphia District on Thursday against the Hannibal River, a 53-49 winner over Bridgeport, also on Thursday. Strasburg bows out with an 18-6 record, half of its losses coming at the hands of Hiland.
"It was everything we expected. We were extremely concerned about that game," Schlabach said. "They mirror us a little bit. They're tough, hard-nosed, you know they're going to play with great emotion. I think coach Bonanno is as good as any coach in the area at getting people prepared and getting them to play strong and physical."
That's how the game started, with the Tigers going toe-to-toe with the Hawks. Senior guard Mackenzie Colombo scored six of Strasburg's first eight points and Jasmine Goings had six of Hiland's as the Tigers and Hawks were knotted at 8-8 after the first period.
A 3-pointer by Mikayla Johnson gave the Tigers a 12-10 lead early in the second quarter. Colombo followed with a layup and Strasburg led 14-10.
That's when Hiland's Hochstetler hoisted her teammates on her shoulders.
The junior marksman swished a triple, then came up with a steal and layup to reclaim the lead for the Hawks at 15-14.
After a missed pair of free throws by the Tigers, Hochstetler dialed up long distance again for an 18-14 advantage.
A Tiger miss led to a breakout. Hochstetler missed another triple try, but Goings got the long rebound and found Hochstetler open on the wing -- swish -- and the Hawks led 21-14 at intermission.
"Other than Regina Hochstetler getting a couple open spurts, it was a complete grind," Schlabach said. "We ran a couple things for her, but for the most part, she was making those runs herself. She's really turned into a 'go-to' kid. I have had those in the past, but they're hard to come by. She just keeps making big shots in big games."
The Tigers were never able to recover, as Hochstetler ball-faked a 3 and drove in for a wide-open layup to start the third quarter.
Goings scored inside to give Hiland a double-digit lead.
Stephanie Schuster stroked a 3-pointer for Strasburg, but the Hawks' Kendra Schlabach answered with one of her own to keep the Tigers behind by 11. Schlabach was fouled on another 3-point try and swished all three free throws to extend the lead to 31-17.
The Hawks led 33-22 after three periods and Hiland was able to work the clock in the fourth quarter and keep Strasburg at arm's length. Megan Beachy dropped in a 3-point bomb for Hiland's final points midway through the final frame.
Bonanno blamed the defensive breakdowns on mental fatigue.
"We didn't do our defensive assignments," he said. "Regina's a really good player and if you leave her a little breathing room, she's going to knock it down.
"Any time you play them, it's a mental thing," Bonanno added. "Once you get down and they hit a few shots, it plays with your psyche a little bit. The girls worked through it, but they hit a couple big 3s, and then their depth got to us at the end. We tried to spread things out, get to the basket and get some fouls, but we didn't get a lot of fouls called when we were penetrating."
Hochstetler finished with 21 points to lead all scorers. Goings added eight and Schlabach chipped in six for the Hawks, who connected on 15-of-31 shots for the game, including 5-of-13 from 3-point range.
Columbo finished with 12 to lead the Tigers.
"Survive and advance," coach Schlabach said. "It wasn't the prettiest thing, but we get to play again. It was a frustrating game to play in. We felt if we could get a lead, then they were going to have to play a little bit different. Then we'd be OK."
