Daily Record Staff Writer
BERLIN — A 21-3 run by Hiland in the third quarter got the offense rolling, and it didn't stop until the hosts posted a 42-33 victory over Margaretta in the Day 1 finale at the Classic in the Country Challenge Saturday at the Perry Reese Jr. Center in Berlin.
Hiland went on a 10-0 run to open the second half, erasing an eight-point halftime deficit.
Brynn Mullet buried a pair of 3-pointers and Zoe Miller scored twice inside to help the Hawks rally from a 22-14 halftime deficit to take a 24-22 lead.
Taylor Mason hit a triple for the only points the Bears would muster in the third quarter.
"We turned it over six of the first seven possessions in the second half, and Mullet hit a couple 3s, and they had the momentum," said Margaretta coach Eric Kochendoerfer. "It's hard to recapture the momentum, especially against a great team like Berlin Hiland."
Mullet, one of Hiland's super sophomores, canned four triples in the second half to lead the Hawks to victory No. 13 against one defeat.
Mullet said she wasn't shooting very confidently in the first half, but couldn't let it get to her head. "I just had to keep shooting," she said. "We do a ton of stuff in transition and my teammates find me, and I've been working on shooting on the run pretty much every day."
The Hiland players responded to coach Dave Schlabach's halftime message.
"We were told we needed to pick it up on defense at halftime," Krista Troyer said. "We were able to do that and Brynn's 3s boosted our energy level straight through the roof."
Ratcheting up the defensive pressure in the second half turned things around for the Hawks, who hadn't been challenged since the season opener.
"We were freaking out in the first half," admitted Schlabach. "For us, this was the first legitimate game we've been in since the opening game of the season. To be down, that is exactly what we needed. I spoke loudly at halftime, but we needed to be in a situation like that."
The coach pointed to uncharacteristic turnovers and rushed shots in the first half that helped the Bears (14-2) build their halftime lead.
"Our depth finally paid off, and we were able to slow down and relax," Schlabach said. "We finally got our rebounding going in the second half. Zoe was an animal."
Zoe Miller ripped down 14 rebounds to go with 11 points.
The Bears did not go down without a fight, but couldn't overcome their third-quarter hole.
"We told the girls they needed to control the first three minutes of the second half, because those are the most important minutes of the game," Kochendoerfer said.
Jenna Yost hit her first basket of the game, a 3-pointer, to trim the Hiland lead back to 10 (40-30) midway through the fourth quarter. Kennedi Hilton swished another triple to cut the lead to seven with 2:37 remaining, but that was as close as the Bears would get.
The Bears were thrilled to be able to play in the Classic. Margaretta was already slated to appear in 2020, but got a call on Friday and accepted a berth to this year's event, replacing a team that couldn't travel due to inclement weather.
"When we found out Friday afternoon that we were going to play here, it was immediate emotions," said senior Faythe Smetzer. "Our underclassmen were just as happy for us to come down here."
The faces of his seniors was something Kochendoerfer won't ever forget.
"I'll never, ever forget their reaction (Friday) night, the raw excitement that came out of them," he said.
"I thought the girls did an awesome job embracing this environment," the coach added. "It was a positive experience. We'll learn from it and move on."
