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The foul call.
Few things in basketball can be more controversial than when a referee must make a call that can alter the very outcome of a game.
In 1992, Hiland fans were on the positive side of a last-second heave from mid-court in which a Lima Central Catholic defender was whistled for a foul on Junior Raber led to a Hiland state championship.
On Thursday, March 2 at Perry High School, Hiland felt the other side of the referee’s whistle, or lack thereof.
With the game clock dwindling in the Lady Hawks’ trailing by one in their regional semifinal contest with Lake Ridge Academy, Brittany Miller went charging toward the bucket with 20 seconds left, ran into two Royals and went flailing to the floor. There was no whistle.
Moments later, after Hiland had forced a jump ball possession and received one more chance at victory, Morgan McMillen drove inside, forced her way to the hoop and had her shot deflected straight up. With time running out, she grabbed the errant ball, pushing up one final attempt, which went straight up in the air as two defenders banged away.
Again, there was no foul called, and as the clock struck 0:00, the Royals were celebrating the school’s first-ever regional win with a 41-40 thrill-ride that ruined Hiland’s attempt to find it way to state for a record 15th time.
This time, the almighty whistle, a judgment call, had gone against Hiland.
While the final non-call, which may have been the right call in the end, left the Hiland faithful wanting, it was ultimately not the reason the Lady Hawks fell. One need look no further than the ugly 1-of-24 performance from behind the 3-point arc as the main culprit in the loss.
“One-of-24 in threes,” lamented Hiland coach Dave Schlabach following the loss. “That tells the story. Sometimes it’s an easy game; you just put the ball in the hole. It felt like there were times when we were on the verge of blowing them out. Just hit a shot. Hit one shot.”
On this night, that task was much more difficult to do than Hiland could have imagined.
With every passing miss, people expected Hiland to eventually get on track, but they remained derailed the entire 32 minutes.
“I don’t doubt our kids’ effort, our preparation, our commitment over the last year was great,” said Schlabach. “You do all of that, but you still have to walk out on the floor and make that shot. We got good looks, too.”
In the early going, it looked like Hiland was every bit the juggernaut it has been over the past dozen games. Four points from McMillen and a pair apiece from Angela Troyer and Tiffany Weaver had Hiland up 8-2. The lead grew to 12-3 when Kennedy Schlabach drove the paint to end the quarter.
When Melissa Hostetler scored on a put-back, Hiland was up 16-7 and all looked well. But the signs were there, as Hiland had built that lead while struggling to hit a three-ball.
Then Lake Ridge went on a nice 11-2 run that tied the score at 18, and only Hostetler’s drive would keep the Lady Hawks up by two at the half.
While the team struggled offensively, it did a good job on defense in dealing with Lake Ridge’s athletic guards and huge interior players. The half also showcased Hostetler, who was playing her best ball of the year.
“She worked so hard,” said Schlabach of Hostetler’s effort to battle the bigs inside.
Hiland came out at the break and looked again like they might run away and hide. McMillen scored three straight times, Troyer added a pair of free throws and Hostetler struck again inside to build a 32-23 lead.
Again Hiland needed to make a big shot, and again it could not deliver.
Yet despite its monumental struggles shooting the ball, the Lady Hawks led 34-28 heading into the final eight minutes.
An 8-0 Lake Ridge run cast plenty of doubt as to the outcome.
Troyer drove for a short jumper to tie the game at 36, but Maria Janasko scored inside and then Michaela Harrison delivered an ironic dagger, a 3-pointed one, that put Lake Ridge up 41-36 with two minutes to play.
It would be the final time the Royals would score, but it would be enough.
“We kind of got a little antsy down the stretch, but it was defense,” said Lake Ridge coach Lisa Medvetz. “The last 1:13 was all about defense, and we did a heck of a job. They run a lot of sets, and it is impossible to scout them all. We focused on the perimeter and worked hard on switching on those screens and making them go off the dribble. We wanted them to get to the hoop, and take our chances that way.”
With 1:08 left, Schlabach finally stuck a trey in the hole to break the dry spell and trim the lead to 41-39. The Lady Hawks were going wild on defense, forcing a turnover. They had three cracks at a game-tying shot, but came away empty. They forced another turnover, and this time McMillen split a pair of free throws with 24.8 seconds top play to get Hiland within one at 41-40. They were forced to foul and when Briana Kirk missed the front end, Hiland had life, setting up the wild finish.
A magical finish was simply not to be for the Lady Hawks in 2016.
“It’s awesome,” said Medvetz of the pulsating win. “I couldn’t breath there for a second. That was a long final minute, but it was great. I know we are a good defensive team, but we haven’t been put in that situation. Kudos to our kids, because they did it.”
In the end, Lake Ridge did what it had to do and Hiland did not. That adds up to some excruciating pain that will haunt this Lady Hawks group for some time. It will not take away from a sensational season, but it will certainly leave a sour taste for a while.
“That one is going to sting for a long time,” said Schlabach. “We felt this group could win it all. The pieces of the puzzle were there, the commitment was there, the effort has been there, we got healthy. We felt we had a shot.”
A shot.
Oddly enough, that was the one thing the Lady Hawks couldn’t find when they needed it most on a tough, tough night of basketball.
