MASSILLON — Battle tested and ready to take their season to the next level, the Hiland girls powered past the Patriots of Cornerstone Christian Academy 57-36 Thursday in the Div. IV Massillon Regional semifinal at Perry High School.
The win leaves the Hawks one win shy of their annual goal of going to Columbus.
To do so, the 26-1 Hawks will have to get past Jackson-Milton Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Cornerstone Christian bows out with a 14-12 record.
"We knew this was going to be a battle," Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said. "Some of our kids have thought about last year's (Regional semifinal) game every day for the past 365 days. I think it's motivated us along the way. But I think we're in a better place mentally. We can handle adversity better this year. We've got a big challenge ahead of us on Saturday. We're looking forward to a good game.
"We needed that adversity," Schlabach continued. "It was loud. We had trouble communicating. But our kids continued to play and contribute. Once we got that post game going, we're a better team than we were a year ago. We got good contributions. I thought our kids played pretty confidently once we got through the first five, six minutes."
The Hawks got off to a slow start Thursday, missing their first six shots from the floor, but 3-pointers by Kennedy Schlabach and Angela Troyer helped the Hawks to a 6-5 lead.
"We were out of rhythm early, but Angela's defense kept us in it," Schlabach said of his Ohio Dominican-bound senior. "It felt like we were down 10. She provided the leadership we needed — and expect."
Cornerstone freshman Michaela Cloonan, the lone Patriot to reach double figures with 10 points, put the Patriots up 11-6 before Troyer connected from long range again. The Hawks trailed 13-9 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Hawks came out with some extra intensity in their step on defense while taking it strong to the hoop inside.
"We talk about that one run against quality opponents," Schlabach said. "We felt we were deeper. We were able to win despite not turning them over in the backcourt. They've got four or five really good guards."
Tiffany Weaver went to work inside, scoring three straight trips down the floor, her third bucket a reverse layup putting the Hawks ahead 17-15.
Grace Marino stroked a contested 3-pointer, but the Hawks answered by closing out the first half on a 12-0 run, ignited by a pair of Troyer free throws and a Morgan McMillen 3-pointer.
Jessica Troyer and Angela Troyer scored inside and Kennedy Schlabach capped the first half offensive with a triple for a 29-18 lead at intermission.
"We had to lock down half court, and I thought we made a good adjustment," Schlabach said. "When you have a really good point guard, I don't even think about bringing the ball up the court. She does it all. She calms us down, and she played really good defense on the Marino kid. We didn't want her to touch the basketball. She did a super job of taking care of the basketball for us."
While also knocking down some huge shots.
Schlabach swished four 3-pointers for all 12 of her points. She was one of four Hawks in double figures. Angela Troyer led the way with 16 points and six rebounds, McMillen followed with 13 points and Weaver added a dozen, to go with five rebounds. Jessica Troyer also yanked down four rebounds for the winners.
Weaver and McMillen controlled the post and another Schlabach triple helped the Hawks maintain a 42-29 lead after three quarters and the Hiland depth wore down the Patriots in the final frame.
"Our kids came out hard and played hard, but their depth was the difference," said Cornerstone Christian interim coach Frank Soria, who was sitting in for head coach Lisa Stopp, who was out recovering from heart surgery the final week of the regular season. "When you get to regionals, you expect every ounce of energy the kids have to give, and that's what they gave. Hiland is just so strong this year. I'm glad our kids fought hard."