LOGAN — Seeking their first trip to the state semifinals in school history, North Adams had a tall order to achieve that goal Saturday in the girls Div. III Logan Regional championship.

The Hiland Hawks, meanwhile, were defending their regional crown, and looking for their 17th trip to state, the 15th under coach Dave Schlabach in his 29 years as coach of the Hawks.

Hiland played like a team desperate for trip to Columbus, smothering the Green Devils from the time they took the court and cruised to a 54-17 victory.

Hiland’s defense forced North Adams into seven turnovers on the first seven possessions of the game, while the Hawks’ sharpshooters went to work from beyond the arc.

Brynn Mullet got the assault started, drilling a triple. Zoe Miller followed with a baseline jumper and then moved out to nail a 3, forcing a North Adams timeout, trailing 8-0.

“I thought the way our defense has been playing, I was feeling pretty confident we could run them off the 3-point line,” North Adams coach Rob Davis said. “I was more concerned about their pressure. When we handled that, we’d turn it over in the half-court. ... Shooting’s about rhythm and they had it. They were quick, with ball movement. They keep running them in and out, and they don’t lose their rhythm. They’re a nice team.”

Kyli Horn came off the bench and buried a triple, and after another Green Devil miscue, she swished another from the corner and Hiland was up 14-0.

North Adams finally got a shot off, two in fact, but missed them both, but with three minutes remaining in the opening quarter Faith Howell got free inside and scored.

Horn answered with her third triple of the frame and Krista Troyer followed with another and the Hawks were up 20-2. A steal and bucket by Kendra Shetler ended the first quarter with Hiland ahead 22-2 with no signs of letting up.

After a pair of free throws by Delaney Harper, Zoe Miller swished a triple and Shelter followed with a three-point play and HIland led 28-4.

Miller struck again off a steal then dropped another 3-point bomb for a 35-6 lead. Horn drilled another triple and two more Miller scores had Hiland ahead 44-9 at intermission, and the second half was played with a running clock.

It was 50-15 after three and 54-17 sending Hiland back to state.

The Hawks play Friday, March 13, at 1 p.m. against Elyria Catholic to move closer to their goal of a sixth state championship. Defending state champion Columbus Africentric, who beat the Hawks in the state semifinals last season, will likely await in Saturday’s state title game if Hiland gets that far.

“This never gets old,” said senior Kendra Shetler. “It’s exciting every year. From the time I was little, I got to watch older kids play, and now I get to be the older kid, and it’s fun playing with such a skilled group. We all feel like one class. We’re like a big family out there.”

Her classmate Krista Troyer agreed.

“It’s awesome. I love my team so much,” Troyer said. “We enjoy playing together so much, it creates a great atmosphere. I love being able to go out on the floor with my best friends.”

Schlabach said it is tough for teams to adjust to HIland’s non-stop pressure defense if they’ve never seen it before.

“We always give our opponents credit, and you just never know how teams are going to handle our pressure,” Schlabach said. “That’s the thing that continues to happen, especially teams that are seeing us for the first time. Tusky Valley plays us three times, and all of a sudden they’re handling our pressure better. Teams like this here at the regional, have trouble because it’s the first time they see that kind of pressure.

“I always believed that pressuring the basketball wins you games, and we’ve got a group right now that really believes in that,” he continued. “But kids have to buy into and work, and you’ve got to have multiple bodies on the bench that can do the same thing.”

Miller led the Hiland attack with 21 points, and Horn finished with 18 to lead the assault.

“She has become so consistent. We have come to expect that,” Schlabach said of Horn. “She’s turned into one of our best scorers. Our kids just handle their roles, and wherever the ball ends up, whoever is hitting the shots on a particular night, that’s what you get. We just want to make sure that our seniors are playing their last game in Columbus.”

And that, they are.