Lady Hawks take down Tigers for District championship
By Kevin Lynch
March 11, 2010
566
The Lady Hawks faced a familiar foe for the District championship Friday, March 5, at Indian Valley, and the result was similar to the two previous meetings.
Hilands one-two punch of Hilary Weaver and Noelle Yoder once again was too much for the Tigers of Strasburg to handle.
The dynamic duo combined for more than half of Hilands points in the 63-42 triumph over the much-improved Tigers.
Their two guards, theyre tough, Strasburg coach Chad Bonifant said of Weaver and Yoder. Theyre pretty good basketball players. I wish them the best. They should go the distance now, I think. Well be rooting for them.
I like playing them. I like playing the best, he added. It measures your team. You can see where youre at and what youve got to improve on. We played them three times this year and took our lumps, but well go back to work and keep trying.
Strasburg knocked off second-seeded Shadyside to reach the District championship. The Tigers have come a long way since their first encounter with Hiland early in the season, a typical Inter-Valley Conference romp by the Lady Hawks.
We knew it was going to be a war. We were very concerned about this game, Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said. Strasburgs been playing as well as they have all year, and I told Coach Bonifant after the game, we feel as if they are a top 10 team.
Theyre very tough to stop inside and their guards are good enough to handle pressure, the coach continued. They are a really solid team.
The Tigers played solid defense from the start as Hiland missed its first 10 shots from the field before Weaver got things going for the Lady Hawks with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, almost four minutes into the game.
Yoder followed with a driving layup for a 7-2 advantage.
The Tigers rallied to pull within 10-8 before Weaver scored, stole the inbounds pass and scored again to give Hiland a 14-8 lead after the first quarter.
The Lady Hawks went on a 10-4 run to open the second quarter, keyed by buckets from Weaver and Yoder. Hiland took a 28-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Carly Clark scored a three-point play and another inside basket, and a shot from Alena Hayden trimmed Hilands lead to six early in the third quarter.
But just as quickly, Yoder canned a 3-pointer and Jessica Stutzman scored inside, and free throws from Weaver and Yoder capped a 9-0 Hiland run to stretch the lead back to 15.
Weaver answered a pair of Clark free throws with a layup, and McKenzie Miller followed with a 3-pointer to give Hiland a 46-28 lead late in the third. It was 48-30 after three.
Clark canned a 3-pointer to pull the Tigers back within 13 inside five minutes of the final buzzer, but Weaver answered, and Hiland capitalized as Strasburg played foul ball down the stretch to extend its lead to 20 plus.
Hilary Weaver, Schlabach said, his smile widening. Her productivity is just unbelievable. Her turnover-to-assist ratio is like 6-to-1. Its just phenomenal. I dont remember her making a turnover all night. Shes been a joy to coach.
I thought all our seniors really played well, Schlabach added. Our seniors and our underclassmen are really starting to be a good mix for us. I thought Jessica Stutzman played the best game of her career. At this time of year, youve got to get really good performances from your kids.
Weaver finished with 20 points and six assists, and Yoder added 18 points and eight rebounds. Stutzman added 10 points and four boards.
Clark was the lone Strasburg player in double figures with 20.
Carly Clark has really gotten good over the last month. We double, and triple teamed her, every time she got the ball, Schlabach said. Shes tough to stop and she kept them going. Shes a competitor. Shes won championships in softball.
Carly played an outstanding game, Bonifant added. She plays with a lot of heart, a lot of passion. You couldnt ask for a better kid to coach. Shell be successful in life, no doubt about it.
The win advances Hiland into the Perry Regional tonight (Thursday, March 11) against Lutheran East.
Lutheran East is one of the best teams statewide. Theyve got everybody back from last years team. They are as athletic a team as weve seen all year, Schlabach said.
Rounding out the scoring for Hiland were McKenzie Miller, Megan Hall and Katelyn Stuckey with three points apiece, and two each from Ashley Weaver, Kendra Schlabach and Hannah Stoneman.
The Lady Hawks improved to 22-2 with the win.
They earned it. Theyll think about us a little bit, Bonifant said. Weve earned their respect, thats for sure. My kids played hard, and they played pretty smart. We just didnt have things go our way. We missed some shots and different things like that, but theyve got nothing to be ashamed of. There are a lot of teams who wouldve liked to have been in this game.
We gave up 10 offensive rebounds in the first half. That hurt us a little bit, he added.
