Classic provides the challenge, but questions remain unanswered for Lady Hawks
Hiland turned in a quite admirable effort in its opening game on Saturday, Jan. 15, and despite a 47-36 loss to state power Columbus Africentric (10-2), there were various reasons for coach Dave Schlabach to smile afterwards. After falling behind 18-2, and then later 37-16, his Lady Hawks responded with a fantastic flurry, riding on the back of junior McKenzie Miller, who had an inspirational game. Miller hit four straight 3-pointers that trimmed the Nubians lead to 11, and then had a fifth rim out, setting the home crowd off. While the Lady Hawks got no closer than nine the rest of the way, it was a game which Schlabach saw some great things.
"I felt like we came to battle," said Schlabach. "We've been waiting for McKenzie to play like that. She carried us. My freshman point guard (Emily Yoder) played as well as we could have hoped. She handled a lot of pressure against a relentless defense. She grew up some tonight. And Ashley Weaver played tremendous defense on Raven Ferguson. She shut her down. I think Ashley really found her niche as a shut-down defender tonight."
Miller was pleased with both her effort and that of her teammates. She praised Yoder, Kendra Schlabach and Regina Hochstetler for getting her the ball in perfect position to score. She also enjoyed the comeback in the third quarter, stating, "We had to quit feeling sorry for ourselves and go out and play. They didn't have any respect for us, and we played scared. Once we got over that, we started playing."
Miller said she was in such a zone in the quarter that she never really thought about anything other than knowing she was going to knock down every shot she took. She also played savagely on the glass, hauling in a game high 12 rebounds to go with her game-high 22 points. Yet despite every reason to be happy, she said that it was no reason to celebrate.
"We did some good things, but I'm not happy," said Miller of the loss. "We came back from 22 points down, but it still hurts. If this doesn't make you mad, then that's no good."
No good was reserved for the Monday night affair against Walsh Jesuit, which was one ugly game on both sides of the court by both teams. Turnovers were the theme of the evening, and neither team ever got into any kind of offensive rhythm. Eventually Walsh Jesuit (3-9) labored its way to a 35-32 victory, but the game came down to the final seconds, when Hiland had two chances to win trailing 33-32, but two Miller 3-pointers missed the mark.
Each team turned the ball over on their first three possessions, and because of the 47 combined turnovers (26 by Hiland), shots were at a premium. Not that many were dropping in on either end of the court.
For Schlabach, the ill-conceived effort by his team, which showed its youth by barely being able to inbound the ball on a number of occasions and suffering from many unforced traveling calls, it was two steps forward and one giant step back.
"I'm very disappointed with our effort," said Schlabach. "Our end-game execution, our out-of-bounds execution, decision making, it was all ugly. We struggled all over, and we never adjusted to the game at all."
Schlabach said that when it comes to many of the issues the team faced in the contest, it boils down to the girls not doing what it took this summer to prepare for such situations. "I can't blame our effort," said Schlabach. "But we're getting what we earned this summer. We didn't put the time in then, and this is what happens."
All of the good feelings the coach had following the Africentric game disappeared in the Walsh Jesuit game. Miller failed to follow up her stellar performance. Yoder looked lost at point guard to where Schlabach had to pull her from the game. Only Weaver, who again showcased her savage defense, in which she snared a game-high nine rebounds and played almost flawlessly on the defensive end, came close to pleasing the coach.
"Right now Ashley is the only kid fulfilling her role," said Schlabach.
Hiland took an 8-7 lead in the first quarter, after Miller looked like she would have another game, nailing two triples to go with a Weaver drive. The second half featured five lead changes, and Annie Haggar scored on a runner in the lane to end the half with Walsh Jesuit up 22-20. The Warriors managed just six buckets and no free throws in the second half, but with the way Hiland continued to shoot itself in the foot time after time, it was enough to stave off a late flurry down the stretch. Hiland actually forged a lead at 31-30 with four minutes to play when Hannah Stoneman scored on a put-back, but Maddie Shepherd, a 1-of-20 3-point shooter coming into the game, nailed a 3-pointer moments later to give the Warriors the cushion they would need at 33-31. The final three minutes was a series of turnovers and missed opportunities for the Lady Hawks, who fell to 9-3 on the year.
"Defensively we played pretty well, but we just couldn't get anything going offensively," said Weaver. As for becoming the defensive stopper, Weaver relishes the chance to stuff the opposing team's top scoring threat, this night helping to hold gigantic Liz Reeves to four points and four rebounds. Not a real scoring threat, Weaver said of her defense, "I like getting in people's faces. Coach expects me to step up defensively, and it is something I enjoy."
So where does the weekend leave Hiland? Unfortunately, for Schlabach and his staff, it leaves them searching for the answers to almost the same questions they had coming into the weekend. "This is a great time to find out where we stand," said Schlabach, exhausted after the long weekend of basketball. "But we showed we have a long way to go, and still have many questions unanswered. It's a matter now of what kind of commitment these kids are willing to make. Unfortunately, we go to Malvern next, where we can't find out anything no matter how we play."