After drubbing Toronto 79-13 in its opener, the Hawks' sectional final wasn't much closer as it cruised from the outset 77-25. Hiland led 24-8 after a quarter and never looked back in its thrashing of the Tigers.

Megany Beachy led the way with 29 points on 11 of 15 shooting, but nine other Hawks scored. For coach Dave Schlabach, that was the most encouraging sign of Thursday's win in Gnadenhutten.

"There was good balance again," he said. "We're getting points from lots of girls."

Hiland (23-1) has had plenty of success this year, but many of its contributors are still new to the postseason atmosphere. In fact, Beachy and Brittany Miller are the only two players that have played meaningful minutes in tournament games.

"We're still really young," Schlabach said. "This is the first time our girls have played in games like this."

Hiland has now won both of its sectional games by a combined 118 points, but Schlabach expects the competition to improve from here. The Hawks, ranked No. 1 in Div. IV in the final AP poll, will now play Shenandoah on Thursday at 6 p.m. at New Philadephia in a district semifinal.