Lady Hawks let one slip away against champion Royals
By Kevin Lynch
February 8, 2010
616
There was no consolation for finishing second in this match-up, especially since Hiland had reigning State champion Regina on the ropes and was unable to put the Royals away.
The Lady Hawks built a 14-point lead in the third quarter after Noelle Yoder busted her fourth 3-pointer of the game.
The Royals played like the champions they are, however, chipping away at Hilands lead and ultimately taking control of the game down the stretch, pulling out a 60-56 triumph over Hiland, Thursday, Feb. 4, at Hiland.
Were a championship team and we showed that in the second half, Regina coach Pat Diulus said. We havent been down 14 points in about five years. Our kids showed what they needed to show, and I think the full-court pressure finally got them. We kept Yoder down in the second half. She killed us in the first half.
The game was eerily similar to the Lady Hawks State championship game loss last season against Africentric, but with less consequence. At least after Thursdays game against Regina, Hilands season continues on.
Jessica Stutzman got things going for the Lady Hawks with a 3-pointer and Noelle Yoder followed with a layup for a 5-0 lead. A Regan Miller triple made it 12-5 Hiland.
Regina sophomore Nirra Fields kept the Royals close, as she scored 10 of Reginas first 12 points.
Yoder stroked a triple and added a layup to give Hiland a 21-18 lead after the first period.
Regina star point guard Tayler Mingo had a hard time getting her game going.
She let her foul trouble get to her in the first half, Diulus said of Mingo. Thats life on the road. The same ref called five hand check fouls. You have to adjust to the referees, they are not going to adjust to you. It was a good experience for us, and she came back and showed what a great player she is.
Mingo was held scoreless in the first half as the Lady Hawks opened up a nine-point lead at intermission, thanks to some deft 3-point shooting by Hiland. The Lady Hawks hit six-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first half. Yoder canned three first-half triples en route to 17 points at the half.
We kind of shot them out of their zone they were sitting in, Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said. We thought theyd come out and play us in man, and they got aggressive. Thats when we needed to execute and run our stuff, and we didnt. We want people to pressure us, but we didnt handle it tonight.
A Yoder three put Hiland up 41-27 early in the third quarter, but she only got one more shot from that point on, as Regina denied her the ball and started cutting into the Hiland lead.
We were sitting there with a 12-point lead. It was similar to Africentric last year, Schlabach said. We have to have the ability to finish. Were not willing to walk out of here feeling good about ourselves because we battled them. Were not going to let ourselves off the hook.
Our intention was to win tonight, and our kids came ready to do that and played hard enough to do that, but we just didnt finish, he added. Especially at the defensive end. We allowed too many second-chance points.
We didnt take care of the basketball, Schlabach said. Thats execution. Our inability to stop those runs and put people away; unless we bring this out in the open and talk about it, youre never going to figure out how to handle it.
Mingo got on track, hitting a 3-pointer and converting a steal into a layup, pulling Regina within 48-43 at the end of three quarters.
Back-to-back three-point plays pulled Regina even early in the fourth quarter, and a pair of free throws by Fields gave the Royals a 51-49 lead two minutes into the final frame.
The Royals took the air out of the ball, holding it for more than three minutes, and Mingo scored a three-point play on a stickback with 3:47 to play to give the visitors a five-point lead, 54-49.
But back came the Lady Hawks. McKenzie Miller hit a pair of free throws.
Mingo then fouled out with 1:49 on a charge, and Miller stoked a 3-pointer to knot things up at 54-all with 1:23 to play.
Fields answered with a 3-pointer at the other end with 43 seconds remaining. The sophomore led all scorers with 31 points.
Hiland misfired on a 3-pointer and freshman Sharday Baines hit three of four free throws down the stretch to secure the victory for Regina.
They did a nice job of shutting down Noelle in the fourth quarter, Schlabach said. Weve got to figure out a way to get her the basketball. Well learn a lot from this game. It still came down to if we defend and rebound, and execute late, we could leave here feeling really good.
When the game got tied or close, Mingo is so good, they brought us out and we werent able to take away penetration. We had to come get them, a little bit, he added. Thats a big challenge there, but its one we were up for. Noelle had a phenomenal three quarters.
Yoder finished with 27 points, the lone Lady Hawk in double digits. Hilary Weaver, McKenzie Miller and Stutzman each added seven points. Weaver also dished out seven assists. Stuckey finished with five points and Regan Miller added three.
The adjustments we made in the second half obviously worked, Diulus said. Tayler came out to play in the second half, and our young kids were amazing. Our JV point guard hit three out of four there at the end to secure the victory. Mingo finished with 13 points.
This was a game with two great teams, and I dont think it would be a shock to anybody if we saw both these teams in Columbus down the road, Diulus added. We kind of did the same thing Dave did the whole game; we kept switching up our defenses. When youve got smart kids like we both do, they are able to handle that. It was just a great basketball game.
The coach said playing here a few times in the Classic in the Country helped acclimate the girls to the environment.
We like to play here. We havent lost here in a long time. People treat us so well here, Diulus said. Whats inspiring for our kids and our folks is how much they respect girls basketball here. Its a great atmosphere and Dave is a championship coach.
Schlabach said his troops wont have too much time to fret over this one.
Weve got the biggest game of the year for our kids Saturday at Garaway, Schlabach said. Theres not much time to worry about this one.
