Seniors have left their mark for Lady Hawks

  • By Kevin Lynch
  • March 25, 2010
  • 529
                        
He knew this day would come, he just hoped it would have a different outcome. Throughout the tournament trail, Hiland coach Dave Schlabach talked about not being ready to see his seniors play their last game. “This is a tough day for our seniors,” Schlabach said, after his team fell 45-41 to Harvest Prep in the State championship game. “There are a lot of programs, a lot of sports where kids end their season and move on the next day because they haven’t sacrificed much or paid a very big price, so it doesn’t really matter much. “This group, over the past six, eight years, has sacrificed a great deal, and are truly some of the greatest leaders I’ve had in the 19 years that I’ve been here,” he continued. “When you give so much, it’s a very painful ending when you don’t quite accomplish your goal. It would’ve been great to win the State championship, but I’m more concerned with how my seniors are feeling right now.” Schlabach talked about the impressive effort turned in by Jessica Stutzman. “Her effort was the single, most incredible defensive performance I’ve ever seen,” he said. “She has compartment syndrome and shouldn’t even be playing. She could’ve probably given this thing up three, four years ago. Jess has stayed with the program and given every ounce she could possibly give. “We’ve had gutsy performances in the past,” he continued. “Kids have played with broken hands down here. Jess’s sister, Jen, had a back issue, yet she played with it. The toughness of this senior class will be hard to be matched in a long time for us.” “We just wanted to go out there and win our last game,” Stutzman said. “We left everything out on the floor. I knew I had to give as much as I could for every one of my teammates. I was going to play through the pain, whether I felt it or not.” “I think Jess is one of the toughest people I’ve ever seen play,” Weaver said. “I can’t even imagine the pain she goes through on a nightly basis. The effort she gives, I don’t think anyone will ever match it.” “My sister has the record of taking charges, and I needed to get four charges to beat her record,” Stutzman said. “That was my goal. I love taking charges. That’s something I love to do. That’s the first thing that pops into my mind when I see someone driving to the hoop.” Schlabach also pointed out how the absence of Mykeila Mast made things tough for his team before the season began. “We never make any excuses, and this isn’t an excuse, but obviously Mykeila’s injury was huge for us” Schlabach said. “There were times this summer when she was our best player. It’s a tough time in the locker room for her, also, because she could have made a difference in this game.” Katelyn Stuckey was another senior who regularly hoisted the Lady Hawks on her shoulders and carried the team to victory, as she did in the Regional championship game against Cuyahoga Heights. “Every team needs a workhorse, and Kate is ours,” Schlabach said. And if it hadn’t been for the heroics of Noelle Yoder, Hiland wouldn’t have gotten past Lutheran East in the Regional semifinal. It was Yoder’s 3-pointer as time expired against the Falcons that sent the game into overtime and catapulted the Lady Hawks into the State tournament. Reflective of the entire team, Yoder had a dismal shooting experience this past weekend in the State tournament, hitting just seven-of-30 shots. The Lady Hawks as a team shot around 30 percent (31-for-101). The Hiland coach couldn’t figure out why the team had such a hard time hitting shots. “It wasn’t from an effort standpoint. This group played extremely hard. I take a look at the stat sheet here, and see we took 15 free throws in the first half; we got none in the second. Our inability, for whatever reason, to get to the free throw line in the second half was big. We struggled with their size inside and finishing shots. “We shot 27 percent (13-for-48 against Harvest Prep),” Schlabach added. “Ultimately, you’ve still got to make shots as hard as you play and as physical as you play.” The Lady Hawks will return several players next year with plenty of valuable experience. Sophomores McKenzie Miller, Meagan Hall, Regan Miller, Hannah Stoneman and others will be a big part of the future of the Lady Hawks if they continue to work hard and follow the path established by the graduating quintet from this year’s team.


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