Lady Hawks open tourney with record-setting performance

  • By Kevin Lynch
  • February 25, 2010
  • 860
                        
The Lady Hawks opened their trek along the tournament trail with a record-setting performance against Toronto Thursday, Feb. 18, at Claymont. Hiland forced Toronto into twice as many turnovers (38) as shots taken (19) en route to a 78-4 thrashing of the Scarlet Knights. And they did it without the services of leading scorer Noelle Yoder, who rested her injured knee. The Lady Hawks called off the dogs in the first quarter, dropping back into a half-court defense in the second quarter and a soft 2-3 zone in the second half. “That was a school record defensively,” Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said. “They were less than tremendous, but we still had to go out and make plays.” Toronto trailed 16-0 before Mariah Turner hit a short jumper with 1:32 remaining in the first quarter. It was 36-2, midway through the second stanza before the Knights scored again, and it was the final basket they would get on the night. “We were hoping they might bank one in there in the second half,” Schlabach said. But they didn’t. Toronto would bring the ball up the floor and turn it over on the first or second pass as they tried to set up an offense. Ballhawks like McKenzie Miller, Regan Miller and Hilary Weaver, who combined for 17 steals, picked off the passes and ignited fast breaks for the Lady Hawks. Weaver finished with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals to lead the Hiland attack. McKenzie Miller scored 15 points and added four offensive rebounds, two assists and six steals. Kendra Schlabach scored 12 points and dished out five assists to go with three steals. Katelyn Stuckey scored nine points and ripped down six offensive boards. Jessica Stutzman added eight points, and Hannah Stoneman chipped in seven points. Regan Miller finished with six points, eight rebounds (seven on the offensive end) and six steals. Megan Hall and Julie Raber rounded out the scoring with two points apiece. “Regan and Hannah are two kids we’ve been waiting for (to step up and have a game like this),” Schlabach said. “Now with Arrianna getting hurt, we’re going to need someone to step up and fill in for her. I feel horrendous for her.” Schrock went down early in the second quarter with a severe knee injury. She had been playing like a Tiger lately, getting after loose balls and making the most of her time on the floor. The coach enjoyed the overall play of his team, despite the inferior opponent and the injury to Schrock. “We are always looking for an identity for every team, and we want our identity for this team to be offensive,” Schlabach said. “We got ourselves a lot of second-chance opportunities, pretty much until we laid it in.” Of Hiland’s 78 points, 33 of them came off second-chance opportunities.


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