Hiland girls leave little doubt in punching their 13th state ticket

By KEVIN LYNCH
Daily Record Sports Writer

MASSILLON — The Div. IV Massillon Regional championship win over Maplewood was rather anticlimactic for the Hiland girls basketball team.

Sure, the Hawks were thrilled to earn a return trip to Columbus, but they did so in convincing fashion, diffusing the Rockets 58-40 Saturday at Perry High School. The win sends the Hawks (25-3) to the state tournament for the 13th time in school history and second season in a row.

"We got a lot of great contributions from our bench. Our depth and pressure paid off again tonight," said Hiland coach Dave Schlabach.

HIland's pressure wreaked havoc in the first half, forcing Maplewood into one turnover after another as it couldn't get the ball up the court against the Hiland pressure.

Regina Hochstetler and Kendra Schlabach connected from long distance and Jasmine Goings went to work inside to help Hiland open up a 15-8 lead after the first quarter.

The Hawks held Maplewood to 12 first-half points, forcing 15 turnovers by the Rockets, in building a 24-12 lead, as Schlabach struck again from long range.

"We felt it would be an up-and-down game," Schlabach said. "We wanted to press a little more. Our defense continued to be solid.

"We've struggled from the perimeter the last couple games. We needed to start hitting some shots," Coach Schlabach added.

Regina Hochstetler, who finished with 14 points, scored six straight to help the Hawks open up 30-16 lead early in the second half before Maplewood found some life. Allison Bell and Miranda Sloan connected for a pair of 3-pointers and Bell added an inside score to trim the Hiland lead to six (30-24).

After a missed shot and a pair of free throws by Bell, the lead was down to four (30-26).

The Hawks closed the quarter on an 11-4 run, spurred by a Megan Beachy triple and a 3-pointer by Schlabach to take a 41-30 lead into the fourth quarter.

"I was really happy for Megan because she's really been struggling offensively," Schlabach said. "We needed a big shot right there. She and Rachel Horn both had a chance to make big plays for us."

Horn came off the bench to score on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter as the Hawks opened up a 15-point margin and then cruised to the victory.

Schlabach paced the Hiland attack with 17 points.

"Jake (Kendra Schlabach) played like a senior in the first half," Schlabach said. "She was tired, but she didn't look tired. She made several big shots. I'm just so excited she gets to play her last game in Columbus."

So is the senior guard of the Hawks.

"It's a dream come true. I've wanted this since I was in fourth grade as a manager. That's all I wanted," she said. "Seeing those girls play in Columbus, and now I get to end my career there, it's an absolute dream come true."

Jasmine Goings also scored in double figures with 10, while pulling down a team-high seven rebounds.

Maplewood took better care of the basketball, finishing with 21 turnovers.