Hiland got a rare on-court challenge, and with a strong second half, the visiting Hawks earned their 11th win in 12 tries.

The Huskies, meanwhile, gained a healthy dose of confidence for the stretch drive. They handled Hiland's vaunted pressure in the first half and led by seven at halftime before the Hawks, the No. 1-ranked Div. IV team in Ohio, sharpened their claws -- and game -- to overtake Northwestern and pull away.

"We love any challenge game, we don't get a lot of them," said Hiland coach Dave Schlabach, whose team outscored Northwestern 38-18 in the second half. "We appreciate the effort Northwestern gave tonight, I thought they played real hard.

"We thought we could pressure them but they did a good job handling it early and got a lot of layups. We just tried to keep the pace up and hoped that our depth would pay off."

In the opening half, the Huskies (10-4), despite 12 turnovers, led most of the way. Once they got through Hiland's full-court pressure they got easy shots -- Kirstin Smith was 6-of-7 and scored 12 of her 14 points and Kara Koch made all five of her field goals and Northwestern led 32-25 at the break.

In the first three possessions of the third quarter, though, the lead was gone when Hiland's lone senior, guard Karli Mast, sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers from the top of the key around another basket. Northwestern reclaimed the advantage on Koch's last two buckets of the game, but the Hawks closed the period on a 13-2 run, including a baseline jumper from McKenzie Miller just before the buzzer that made it 47-40. In the fourth quarter, the Hawks took just seven shots but made four, including the last of Mast's five 3-pointers, and cemented the victory with 6-of-6 at the foul line.

"You always worry about the first three or four minutes of the third quarter, it's absolutely crucial, and for them to come out and take the lead like they did, it was trouble," Northwestern coach Sid Cline said. "After Mast scored the first eight points in the third quarter, I think we panicked a little and we didn't need to.

"We tried to regroup but they kept hitting, and you don't lose many games when you make nine 3's like they did. You have to give Hiland credit -- they hit big 3's and outscored us 22-8 in the third quarter, which hurt. But I've been telling my girls since I came here that if they played as hard as they could and we lost, I can accept it. That's what happened tonight."

Mast scored 21 to lead all scorers, including 13 straight in the second and third quarters, while guard Noelle Yoder scored 11 of her 15 points in the first half to keep Hiland close. Add in junior point Hilary Weaver's steady play, and Schlabach's young team has three backcourt veterans to rely on.

"We expect that out of those three," Schlabach said. "They're very skilled players, they play with a lot of confidence, and they all took turns taking over the game a bit. Karli in the third quarter got things rolling, and it's amazing how much energy you get when a few shots go in."

After shooting just 9-of-34 in the first half, including 3-of-16 3-pointers, the Hawks were 12-of-22 in the second half, hitting 6-of-11 3's.

Northwestern was just the opposite, going a red-hot 14-of-25 in the opening half, but making only six baskets and 5-of-12 foul shots in the second half.

"We softened our press a little in the second half, trying not to give up the home run, and made them play more of a halfcourt game and we got some stops," Schlabach said.

Koch scored 18 to lead the Huskies and Kristen Warner added 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds, one more than Koch. The Huskies did commit 22 turnovers, to Hiland's nine, but in the end, Cline knows the game, as well as next Tuesday's contest with Div. III state power Regina, are beneficial.

"The Wayne County (Athletic) League is tough enough, but we didn't want any nights off," Cline said. "This absolutely helps our confidence."