BERLIN — While it may have appeared to be all business as the Hiland girls basketball team manhandled its opponents on the way to its ultimate goal of finishing the season playing in Columbus, the players were actually quite giddy about earning a state tournament berth after wiping out their regional foes last week in Logan.

“If the seniors can end their season playing in Columbus, then it’s been a good season,” Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said. “This group is so unselfish. They have accepted their roles and just go out and play. They know some nights they will have more opportunities than others and they have to be ready to step up when they’re called on to play. And they have done that.”

The girls expressed their joy at earning another trip to state.

“This is so exciting, it never gets old,” said senior Kendra Shetler who is making her third trip to the final four in her four years at Hiland. “It’s exciting every year.”

Shetler, Shelby Miller and Krista Troyer were freshmen members of the team that won it all 61-41 in 2017.

“From the time that I was young, I used to watch the older kids play, and then I played with older kids,” Shetler said. “Now it’s fun to be the older kid, playing with a bunch of younger kids. And they’re so skilled.”

Shelter says she enjoys the family atmosphere she shares with her teammates. And her classmate Troyer agrees.

“It’s awesome. I love my team so much,” Troyer said. “We all love playing together so much, it’s great to be able to celebrate with each other and just be on the floor with my best friends.

Troyer believes she can be a scoring threat if she needed to, but that’s the best part about being around so many talented players. Even if I don’t score, I have so many other things to offer that may not show up on the stat sheet.”

Zoe Miller is a junior who leads the team in scoring and rebounding. She says this is a great group to be around because every member is willing to work hard and do what it takes to win.

“We work so hard in practice, all summer, and all season. We just want to win,” Miller said. “We don’t ever want to lose. We have a mindset to win. We just hate losing.”