Lady Hawks get engine cranking in 43-25 win over Ridgewood
But once they did, the engine purred to perfection, as the Lady Hawks churned out a 43-25 victory against a team which has the ability to give anyone in the league fits.
After finding themselves down 8-3, it appeared as though the Lady Hawks took stock of the situation at hand and finally realized that they were the team to beat, and it was their home court.
A nifty little 20-4 run followed, spurred by Kendra Schlabach. Hiland finally found the lead when Jasmine Goings grabbed an errant shot and quickly fired up a six-footer that nestled into the net as the buzzer went off, giving Hiland an 11-10 lead after one quarter.
After Regina Hochstetler and McKenzie Miller each split a pair of free throws, Schlabach knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, then made a steal and fed Regan Miller for a layup. Suddenly Hiland was up 221-10. After Ridgewood’s huge post player Kelsey Miller made a free throw late in the quarter, Hiland again tossed in a buzzer-beater, this time courtesy of Hochstetler, who rainbowed in a 15-footer for a 23-11 halftime lead.
The second half continued on the same note as the first had ended. McKenzie Miller hit a runner in the lane, Goings went inside for a bucket and Hochstetler drove the lane for a 29-13 edge. After Kelsey Miller finally got the Generals on track with a 14-footer midway through the third, Hochstetler again drove and McKenzie Miller hit another runner in the lane for a 33-13 advantage.
The Hiland lead grew to as many as 22 in the fourth quarter, the charge led by Bria Coil who popped in a couple of hoops on spin moves on the right block.
Considering that the Generals were gassed midway through the third quarter, there was no coming back from the nearly two-dozen point deficit.
“This is a nice win for us,” said Hiland coach Dave Schlabach. “This is a Ridgewood team that can beat anyone in the IVC, because they present a tough match-up with a great post player and a good point guard.”
Schlabach said the defense held the key to the victory, as Hiland pressured Ridgewood from line to line. Even so, it wasn’t until late that the Generals seemed to fall apart as they tired, with Schlabach running 10 sets of fresh legs in and out throughout, while Ridgewood played seven.
“We held a good team to 17 points until late in the fourth quarter, and although I am not pleased with the way we finished on defense down the stretch, I thought we got after it pretty good,” said Schlabach. “We seem to be a better defensive team than we were a year ago, and that has a lot to do with our effort.”
While the defense was very, very good, the offense sputtered along at a rural Holmes County pace, Hiland canning just 17 of 51 action shots for 33 percent. Take out the uncontested layups, and that number drops to around 20 percent.
That is a number which Schlabach said has to change if the Lady Hawks want to reach their goals this season.
“I loved our intensity, but we missed an awful lot of open shots,” lamented Schlabach. “Our shooting at this point is a concern, because that is basically how we shot all last year and this summer.”
What did please Schlabach, however, was the continued emergence of Kendra schlabach, who led Hiland with eight points, and did look confident shooting the ball. He also said that Meagan Hall played with nice confidence as well.
“In addition, he pointed to Coil’s two fourth quarter buckets against Miller, one of the best post players in the Inter-Valley Conference this season.
“Kendra took good shots, and she is playing with confidence right now, as is Meagan,” said Schlabach. “What Bria did was important, because she didn’t do it in garbage time against some scrub. She sealed Miller, who is one of the best around in the post, and went by her. She has that kind of ability.”
Schlabach and Hochstetler led the way for Hiland with eight a piece, Schlabach adding six steals. Hall, Goings and McKenzie Miller each added five, while Regan Miller and Coil pitched in with four each.
Hiland held a slim one board edge on the glass, posting 28 rebounds to Ridgewood’s 27. Natalie Nickol paved the way on the glass for the Lady Hawks, hauling down six rebounds, while Goings added five and Coil and Hall four. Kelsey Miller snared eight to go with her seven points, while point guard Kayla Tedrick popped in 12 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the way for Ridgewood.
The biggest difference in the game came in points off of turnovers, with Hiland holding 24-6 advantage, which was exactly the point difference in the game.
Hiland also took control in the reserve game, earning a 50-27 victory.
Published: December 10, 2011
