BERLIN — Hiland suffered its first loss of the season, but it took one of the top ranked teams in the country to knock off the Hawks, as Winston-Salem Christian withstood a furious second-half comeback by Hiland to secure a 44-41 triumph at the Classic in the Country.

The Lions, ranked No. 10 nationally by ESPN, got a stellar effort from 6-3 Kiandra Browne, who helped WSC build a 12-4 lead after the first quarter.

Zoe Miller scored seven and Brynn Mullet swished a triple to pull the Hawks within five, 22-17 by halftime.

The Lions maintained a five-point lead after three, but a Morgan Yoder jumper followed by a Yoder triple knotted things up at 31 all.

A 3-pointer by Sandrine Clesca gave the Lions a 38-35 lead midway through the final frame.

“We took one of the best teams in the country to the wire. I’m very proud of our kids,” Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said. “We just love challenging our kids. We dug into a lot of film and our kids got prepared.

“We couldn’t hit shots early, but I liked where we were at defensively. We played them tough. They knew they were in a war. We just don’t get any games like that, and our kids appreciated the battle.”

The Hawks hung close, getting a 3-pointer by Miller to pull within 42-41 with 15 seconds to play.

Shelby Miller took a charge with 15 seconds to play, but the Hawks couldn’t convert the go-ahead, as amped up defensive pressure by the Lions forced a turnover inside 10 seconds, and Angelica Jean-Juste swished a pair of free throws to secure the victory.

Zoe Miller did her best to keep Hiland close, scoring more than half her team’s points with 21. Clesca led the Lions with 12, and Kiandra browne added 10 points and six boards for the winners.

Schlabach was pleased with the performances turned in by several kids.

“Zoe (Miller) was great, doing what she does,” Schlabach said. “She was 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. And we’re asking her to step out and shoot the 3 to bring the opponent’s bigs out and shot it really well tonight. But Shelby (Miller) coming in and taking that charge with 15 seconds left, that was great. A lot of kids stepped up big.”

Kendra Shetler scored six points and ripped down nine rebounds for the Hawks.

Hiland made good on 6 of 28 3-point tries, finishing 12-of-50 overall from the field. The Lions shot 18-for-46.

Zoe Miller said it felt good to play against quality competition like the Lions because it can only help the Hawks down the road as they head toward the tournament.

Hiland has little time to feel sorry for itself after the loss, as the Hawks host undefeated Shelby Monday night in the Classic in the Country finale.