Hiland unleashes secret weapon on Notre Dame to earn 19th state tournament berth

PICKERINGTON — Hiland freshman Evie Mast picked a perfect time for her first big offensive explosion, dropping five 3-point bombs on Portsmouth Notre Dame to help the Hawks turn back the Titans 53-43 in the Div. IV Pickerington Regional championship game, sending Hiland to state for the 19th time in program history.

Aside from delivering her usual dose of defense, Mast was a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc for her 15 points, as the Hawks hit nine of 20 triple tries for the game, while the Titans managed only one 3-pointer out of three tries.

"It felt great. My shots were finally starting to fall, and this was just a great game for that to happen" Mast said.

She came into the game hitting 16-of-59 from beyond the arc on the year and noted that coach always tells her to shoot it if she has the open shot.

"Evie's a gamer," Hiland coach Brady Schlabach said. "We knew we were going to have to have someone step up and surprise us off the bench, and she definitely fit that bill. She's been an unbelievable defender for us the last couple of games, so to have her ready for the moment was sweet.

"The last couple months of the season, we've had to find different ways to win, and tonight was no different," the first-year coach continued. "It was an unbelievable battle for us, especially physically, so for us to step up and respond was just awesome to see. We told them the first day of summer that we believed they could be playing in Dayton at the end of the year, but I don't know if they believed it then. For them to come together is awesome."

The win advances Hiland to its 19th state appearance, where the Hawks have captured six state championships. Two members of the last championship team, Ashley Mullet and Mallory Stutzman, played a big part in helping the Hawks get back to Dayton this year.

"To have Ashley Mullet on your team is something that any coach would love to have," Schlabach said. "To have her out there for us is so huge for us. This is a very young team that had to learn how to win close games, and now they're kind of figuring that out."

Mullet, the junior point guard finished with a game-high 23 points, including three 3-pointers and six straight free throws down the stretch to secure the victory for Hiland, now 22-6, and winners of 14 straight. Hiland faces Tri-Village Thursday at 8 p.m. at the University of Dayton.

"I'm excited to be going back to state," Mullet said. "I want to be a leader on this team. I do everything I can to be the best leader I can.

Mullet, Mallory Stutzman and Joplin Yoder, along with Mast found ways to score when the Hawks needed them most.

Mullet swished a triple to open the scoring and added another later in the quarter and Yoder scored twice inside, while five different players scored for the Titans in the opening frame that ended deadlocked at 12.

Stutzman went deep to open the second stanza, but Notre Dame answered with six straight points to take an 18-15 lead.

That's when Mast opened fire. She drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing to even the score at 18, and after Gracie Ashley answered inside, the freshman sniper struck again to give Hiland a 21-20 advantage. The Hawks would never trail again. Mullet scored on a layup and Yoder added two free throws to give Hiland 25-20 lead. Annie Dettwiller scored inside to cut the Hiland lead to 25-22 at intermission.

Schlabach said the key to the victory was defensive intensity in the second half, taking away what the Titans wanted to do, along with grabbing some big rebounds when needed, and kids being ready to knock down shots.

"We knew their MO was to get downhill and try to score on the rim," Schlabach said. "We took away No. 4 (Katie Strickland, 4 points) who is an incredible shooter. We didn't want to let her get open for anything and then tried to stop them at the rim."

Ashley and Dettweiler did most of the damage offensively for the Titans, who finished their season with a 24-3 mark. Ashley led the way with 16, and Dettwiller added 13.

A 16-7 blitz in the third quarter by the Hawks, ignited by nine points from Mullet and a Mast triple to beat the buzzer had Hiland ahead 41-29 heading into the final frame.

Two turnovers and a misfire by the Hawks, coupled with a pair of buckets by Dettwiller and Ashley pulled Notre Dame back within eight, but Mast went deep again to stem the tide.

After a pair of Ashley free throws ended a two-minute scoring drought by both sides, Mast delivered the dagger with her fifth triple with 3:31 to play, giving Hiland a 47-35 advantage. Mullet closed things out from the foul line the rest of the way.

Yoder, Hiland's sophomore post, played a big game for the Hawks inside, battling the trio of 6-footers that Notre Dame featured.

"I work on hitting the post early so they can't get down to the block," she said. "It's hard when they're bigger, but I've been working on it.

"It feels great to be going to state," Yoder added. "At the beginning of the season, I never would have thought we'd get this far, but here we are. I think we've gotten a lot closer as a team and we work together."

Senior Abby Miller, who earned a gold medal as a member of the 2021 state champion Hawks, said she was proud of the way her team battled against the bigger Notre Dame squad, and looks forward to playing at Dayton.

"They were very strong down there on the post and they pushed a lot," she said. "We just had to stand our ground and keep them out as best as we could.

"I'm so excited. I can't wait to play again," Miller continued. "We're ready to go. We spend a lot of time outside of basketball and bond as much as we can. I think that has really brought us together on the floor."

Senior defensive stopped Kate Kaufman added that getting to go to state is beyond exciting.

"It's like nothing I've ever felt before," she said. "I'm happy, but to see all the players and parents share in the excitement is so up-lifting."

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Girls Basketball: Hiland earns 19th state berth