Lady Hawks club Hornets 70-18 as competition heats up
By Dave Mast
December 6, 2010
309
If the Lady Hawks head coach was looking for improvement following the teams season opener, he didnt have to look hard or wait long. Hiland reeled off a 70-18 victory against Malvern on Saturday, Dec. 4 at the Perry Reese Center, and it wasnt necessarily the massive point differential that pleased Dave Schlabach, but rather the way his team approached the game that had the coach singing his teams praises.
Our concentration level was a lot better today, said Schlabach. We had a great practice Friday and it carried over today. I think the kids are realizing that they want to be out there competing for playing time. They know at this point that Ill play whoever performs. The kids are fighting for playing time and thats what I want.
That being the case, Schlabach had plenty to choose from, beginning with McKenzie Miller, who had a monster game with 25 points. But it wasnt just the scoring, but rather Millers aggressive attitude right out of the gate that set the tone for the Lady Hawks.
McKenzie made play after play right out of the gate, said Schlabach. She played with confidence, and the first three times down the floor she took it to the rim and didnt settle for outside shots.
Schlabach also said that his point guard play took a step in the right direction, with sophomore Kendra Schlabach and freshman Jenica Schrock both playing with confidence and taking care of the ball. He added that he also was pleased with the effort of his bigs, Bria Coil, Hannah Stoneman and Jasmine Goings, whom he said played with a little more passion underneath, and even ran the floor well as Hiland beat the Hornets down the floor easily all night.
We had one turnover the first half, and that means the kids are taking care of the ball, said Schlabach. Our bigs posted like we wanted them to and were active. It feels like the competition is really on right now for playing time, and that is going to make our practices a lot more competitive.
The Lady Hawks had little problem disposing of the Hornets, taking command 21-5 after one quarter, then expanding that lead to 41-11 by the half. When the third quarter ended with Hiland leading 58-13, the only question left was how many points Hiland would win by.
In addition to Millers offensive explosion, freshman Regina Hochstetler chipped in with 10, Stoneman added eight, Schrock, Goings and Coil all scored five and Kendre Schlabach, Regan Miller and Ashley Weaver each pitched in with four. The Lady Hawks also showed a keen eye from the charity stripe, connecting on 12-of-14 free throws.
The junior varsity Lady Hawks also rolled, trouncing Malvern 41-4.
