Hiland girls' shooting falters in 41-40 tournament loss

By JIM HAYNES
Times-Reporter sports writer

Hiland, known for its potent 3-point shooting, went 1-of-24 from behind the arc and had little answer to the Royals height inside.

Unfortunately, that nightmare became reality for the Hiland Hawks in the Division IV regional semifinal against Lake Ridge Academy on Thursday night at Perry High School.

The Royals stunned the state-ranked Hawks 41-40.

Hiland, known for its potent 3-point shooting, went 1-of-24 from behind the arc and had little answer to the Royals height inside.

“Sometimes, it’s just a simple game by putting the ball in the hole,” observed a dejected Hiland head coach Dave Schlabach. “They (Lake Ridge) were able to put a run together and pull it out in the fourth quarter.”

The Hawks (23-4), ranked No. 3 in the state, got off to a good start in the first quarter behind the scoring of five players, building a 12-3 lead.

But Lake Ridge (18-8) joined the contest with a strong second quarter, using its height advantage.

With Hiland sporting a 16-10 lead, the Royals fed 6-foot-1 junior Maria Janasko, who scored eight points in 21⁄2 minutes. Her layup with a minute left until halftime tied the game at 18.

A Melissa Hostetler basket gave the Hawks a 20-18 advantage at half.

It was Hiland’s lack of success from behind the arc that had Hawks’ fans buzzing at intermission. The girls were zero-for-10 from deep.

Hiland came out strong in the third quarter behind Morgan McMillen, who started to drive to the basket.

On consecutive possessions, McMillen made pretty drives, finishing at the hoop, to give the Hawks a 24-18 lead and lots of momentum.

The Hawks gained a 32-23 lead (its biggest since the end of the first quarter) with just over a minute to play in the third.

A 3-pointer by Michaela Harrison and a Brianna Kirk layup pulled Lake Ridge Academy to 34-28 heading to the final frame.

Much like it did in the second quarter, the Royals went inside, this time using 5-foot- 11 sophomore Sydney Mayberry along with Janasko.

Mayberry rattled off all six of her fourth- quarter points to open the frame and help the Royals pull even with the Hawks at 34.

After Hiland missed another 3-pointer, the Royals took their first lead of the game (36-34) when Janasko scored a bucket inside. There was five minutes left.

Angela Troyer tied the game at 36 with a basket, but Janasko answered with another basket and Harrison drained a 3-pointer to give the Royals a 41-36 lead with just over two minutes remaining.

Hiland was able to force two turnovers; the second led to the Hawks’ first 3-pointer of the contest, by Kennedy Schlabach, to pull Hiland to 41-39.

On Hiland’s ensuing possession, McMillen drove to the basket and was fouled. She made one foul shot to make the score 41-40 with 24 seconds left.

Hiland got the ball back, but a last-second, potentially game-winning, shot fell short, sending the Royals’ team into celebration.

“It was all about defense over the last minute and 13 seconds,” said an excited Royals head coach Lisa Medvetz. “We did a heck of a job down the stretch defensively. We knew that if we could be within a couple points at halftime, we would have a shot.”

McMillen scored 14, the only Hawk in double figures. Hostetler had eight.

“I’m proud of my kids, and I don’t doubt their effort,” said Schlabach. “Our preparation over this past year has been great, but you still have to go out there and make that shot.”

Harrison paced the Royals with 14 points; Janasko and Mayberry finished with 12 and 11, respectively.