BERLIN — Hiland’s depth, defense and deft shooting proved to be enough to fend off the Gahanna Lincoln 44-36 in the finale of the Classic in the Country Monday at the Perry Reese Jr. Community Center.

The defense of the Hawks limited the Golden Lions to only one 3-point shot out of 16 attempts.

“I don’t think there was a half-court possession all night that we weren’t engaged and taking things away,” Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said. “We gave up a couple long passes early, but as far as half-court defense, I felt we were on target all night long.”

“We’re getting deeper,” the coach added. “Kendra (Shetler) off the bench made some big plays for us. Kelsey (Swihart) made plays. And Aila (Miller) had a coming out party today. Everybody contributed. I love where she’s going.”

Morgan Yoder poured in 16 points and Zoe Miller added 11 for the winners, who ran their record to 14-1.

“One of us always seems to go off. If it’s not Brynn, it’s Zoe. Tonight just happened to be my night, I guess,” Yoder said. “I feel like we handled their pressure really well. It helped coming into this game to know we had to play physical and strong.”

Swihart drilled a triple and Yoder added two more in the first quarter to help Hiland open an 18-10 lead after one period of play.

The Lions clawed back, trimming the Hiland lead to 23-19 at the half, as Lincoln’s Edyn Battle and Gabby Anderson made the most of second-chance opportunities.

A few adjustments helped the Hawks take over on the boards in the second half, with Zoe Miller and Aila Miller taking over inside. Zoe finished with 12 caroms and Aila yanked down 10, limiting the Lions to one-and-done on their offensive trips down the floor, and helping the Hawks build an advantage.

“We’ve been shellacking people on the boards, and I was anxious to see what we’d do against this team because they were strong and physical,” Schlabach said. The Hawks won the battle of the boards 45-33.

Aila Miller came to life offensively in the third quarter, scoring on a stick back and adding a layup as Hiland built a 32-23 lead heading into the final frame, when buckets by Kendra Shetler, a Yoder 3-pointer, a Zoe Miller stickback and an Aila Miller score gave the Hawks 43-29 advantage.

Aila Miller, a freshman finished with seven points to go with her 10 rebounds.

Anderson and Battle paced Lincoln with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

This weekend of competition for was just what the doctor ordered, according to Schlabach and his troops.

“This weekend was a lot of fun. I think we needed that to know where we’re at, so we can get better,” Zoe Miller said.

Schlabach says it was important for his team to know they could play in a big-time, physical game.

“We need to know that we can lock down those great athletic-type teams,” the coach said. “We may see one of those down the road.”