By DAVE MAST
holmescountyTICKET.com

The Hiland Lady Hawks JV team won a nail-biter by one point over Garaway Jan. 31, setting the tone for what most expected would be a similar game at the varsity level.

Aside from a big run in the second quarter by Garaway, the varsity game didn’t live up to the status of the JV’s impressive contest, as Hiland swallowed up Garaway in the second half en route to a 55-37 victory that all but eliminated Garaway from the Inter-Valley Conference chase.

Hiland took an early edge on the strength of Kennedy Schlabach’s dead-eye shooting from beyond the arc. Schlabach hit three threes early to spot the Lady Hawks to a 9-2 edge.

Sydney Mullet’s three would get Garaway back to within 9-7, but Megan Beachy hit a pair of free throws, and after Courtney Werker’s lay-up trimmed it back to two at 11-9, Hiland scored the quarter’s final five points, getting three from Rachel Horn and a bucket from Angela Troyer.

Troyer struck for a three to begin the second quarter, before Garaway got a huge spark from Kaitlyn Stress, who hit a couple long jumpers to get the Lady Pirates to within two at 20-18.

Garaway had a shot at tying the game up, but a key charging call on Mullet turned the tide and the long-ball was at the center of a 9-3 Hiland run. Schlabach drilled two more triples and Beachy followed suit to give Hiland a 29-22 halftime edge.

Garaway coach Jim Monigold felt that the charging call definitely played a factor in the momentum swing, noting, “Calls can do that. They can swing momentum whether it is a good call or a bad call. We had a stretch there where we were making a run and getting things going, and that hurt our momentum. That’s the nature of basketball.”

The three began flying with great regularity in the second half. Brittany Miller hit for Hiland, but Werker answered right back. When Izzy Meese drained a rainbow, Garaway had clawed back to within 34-28.

But Angela Troyer scored five quick points and Beachy dropped in another triple, and suddenly Hiland had pushed the lead back to 14 at 42-28.

That was a lead Garaway could not overcome, never getting closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

Monigold felt that the Lady Pirates did what they needed to do in order to stay in the game, that happening as his players were getting in foul trouble with incredible rapidity.

“We just didn’t shoot the ball well at all, especially from behind the arc,” said Monigold. “We shot 38 percent from the field and 38 percent from the line. We were 6-of-22 on 3-pointers. We had a run,they answered, and when we had a chance to respond we didn’t make what I felt were pretty good shots.”

Garaway could not solve Schlabach, the freshman point guard for Hiland made five threes, scored 17 points and dished out seven assists to one turnover.

“I thought we needed a good start, and we got one,” said Coach Schlabach. “Kennedy was on early, and more importantly was her seven assists. Kennedy hit some shots but I thought she got those looks because we executed. I thought getting that big lead helped our confidence.”

However, Coach Schlabach said the big key was the third quarter, when he felt his Lady Hawks played about as well as possible defensively, helping to build the double-digit lead.

Schlabach said a pair of seniors really stepped up big in this one, Megan Beachy really playing a well-rounded game, and Alex Troyer stepping in and taking three huge charges defensively.

More importantly, he wanted to see how his team would respond following its first loss of the season the game prior to Chippewa.

“With a young team like this, I was curious as to how we would handle a quality opponent coming off a loss,” said Schlabach. “I thought we were vulnerable coming off that first loss. We were talking before the game (coaches), questioning how confident we looked. But what I liked was that we just ground it out, and all of a sudden I looked up and we were up 13. That was a really big test for our kids, and we responded.”

Schlabach ended the night with 17 points and seven assists, while Beachy added 13, Troyer scored eight and Mackenzie Miller continued her resurgent play with a four point night along with some good interior defense.

For the Lady Pirates, Werker was solid all night, scoring 12 points and hauling down four rebounds. Meese added eight, while Kendra Miller had six points and five boards, Katelyn Miller added three points and six boards, and Mullet and Stress both scored four.

What This One Means

Hiland’s 55-37 win puts them in the driver’s seat for a 20th consecutive Inter-Valley Conference title, and really puts Garaway out of the picture. Hiland is currently undefeated in league play, while Ridgewood has one loss and the Lady Pirates now have three. Hiland still must travel to West Lafayette later this season.

Play of the Game

With Garaway gaining momentum, and a chance to tie or take the lead, Alex Troyer stepped in and took a charge, one of three she took on the evening for Hiland. The Lady Hawks would then go on a 9-3 run and never looked back.

Who Stood Out

Kennedy Schlabach hit three treys to start the game, and then hit two more in Hiland’s late second quarter run. Megan Beachy played inspired team basketball, not forcing shots, but letting the game come to her. Kaitlyn Stress came off Jim Monigold’s bench and really supplied Garaway with a huge jolt of energy in the second quarter. Courtney Werker had a really balanced game start to finish, making 4-of-7 shots.

For the Stats Freaks

Hiland nailed an impressive 10-of-18 shots from behind the 3-point arc. Garaway connected on an ugly 5-of-12 shots from the free throw stripe. Hiland wasn’t much better at 13-of-22.

Just Sayin’
Coach Monigold:

“If we could have made a couple of big shots in the second half, it might have been a lot different. We simply didn’t shoot the ball well at all tonight, in any aspect. Everyone kept waiting on us to make a run, and it never came because we couldn’t put the ball in the hole.”

Coach Schlabach:

“We made five two-point shots against Chippewa the last game, and six two-pointers tonight. We’ve got to do better inside, because that kind of thing is going to bite us. I told our (coaches) I didn’t like how the game was going early, because we didn’t have a two at all.”