Hawks roll over Spartans, into Elite Eight

By KEVIN LYNCH / Staff Writer
By The-Daily-Record.com

LOGAN — The Spartans of Albany Alexander were introduced to the best high school defense their coach had ever seen in the Div. III Logan Regional semifinal at Jim Myers Gymnasium and the result was a 59-30 victory for the Hiland Hawks, who advance to face Wheelersburg Saturday afternoon for a trip to state.

"That is by far, bar none, the best team we've played all year," Spartans coach Jeff Grinstead said. "We knew they were good. I didn't know how good, until you actually get out there on the floor with them. They made us uncomfortable, a lot."

"They play so dang well," the coach continued. "I've never seen a high school team play defensively like them, always switching everything, right up in your face. We just couldn't get anything going that we've been able to do all year. That is a great program, great coach and great players. I give them all the credit. They were exactly who we thought they were. There weren't any surprises today."

The Hawks held Alexander to one first-quarter field goal in nine attempts, to go with seven turnovers.

Hiland, meanwhile, displayed its versatility as five different players scored before the Spartans got on the board.

Kendra Shetler stuck back a miss, Brynn Mullet scored a layup, Krista Troyer added another put back, Zoe Miller scored inside and Aila Miller scored on a drive to make it 10-2 Hawks.

Kyli Horn hit a pair of free throws and Miller scored again inside to give Hiland a 14-2 lead after the first period, and the Hawks never looked back.

"We knew we had to take care of the ball, and we had to box out," Grinstead said. "That set the tone in the first four minutes of the game. They got rebound after rebound, put back after put back. We knew we had to get a hand in the face of the 3-point shooters, and they had so many good shooters, 22, 25, 12 — and we couldn't even buy a bucket."

Hiland coach Dave Schlabach praised the play of his troops, noting they played their best game of the season so far.

"Tonight was probably the best game of the year where kids just absolutely filled their roles," Schlabach said. "Krista, Shelby, Aila come in and defend, Kyli comes in and scores. That's what she's supposed to do."

"I thought the first four minutes of the game would be big, because when teams play us for the first time, we're more physical than most teams, and we're faster, and we defend quicker than most," he continued. "I thought that was very evident. Our kids were very prepared, and we took away everything they wanted to do in that first half."

In the second quarter, Zoe Miller went to work inside, while Brynn Mullet and Horn connected from long range. Horn's second triple gave Hiland a 24-6 lead. Morgan Yoder added a triple to beat the buzzer, sending the Hawks to a 32-9 halftime advantage.

By the time the Spartans found their shooting touch in the second half, Hiland was already looking ahead to Saturday.

The Spartans wound up making only three of 18 shots from beyond the arc, as Hiland cruised to its 25th win of the season against two losses.

"I was very, very pleased with our first half," Schlabach said. "We got out healthy and we get to play again. That was a very good team we just beat. We were able to take away a lot of stuff."

Rachel Richardson and McKenna Rice were both 20-point scorers during the regular season for Alexander, which bows out at 23-3.

"Neither one of them scored in the first half," Schlabach said. "That's preparation. Any time you take away what somebody does best, you have a chance to win."

The coach said he's prepared for whomever he faces on Saturday, noting all the teams in this regional were fortunate to have good guard play.

Especially, his Hawks.

Mullet led the Hiland offensive with 16 points and Zoe Miller was next with 15. Horn added a dozen and Yoder finished with eight.