Talk about a false sense of security.

With a 30-0 blitz, top-ranked Hiland quickly squashed those hopes en route to a 71-30 crushing of the Bishops at Indian Valley High School. It was the Hawks' seventh district championship in school history, and sixth in the 14 years that Dave Schlabach has been at the helm of the program.

"The worst part is, I didn't even get to enjoy it," joked Schlabach of the run.  "I'm over there on the bench chewing some butts for the way we played in the first four minutes.

"The only run I can think of that compares to that was during Erin Hostetler's senior year," Schlabach continued.  "We were over at Dover and she went on a 16-0 run by herself.  That was pretty impressive."

So was Friday's game-changer.

In the early going, Hiland had five turnovers, was 0-for-5 from 3-point range, and hadn't been able to dictate the tempo by turning Rosecrans over.  That all changed in a four-minute span bridging the first and second quarters.

The Hawks scored on 12 straight possessions, forced the Bishops into 10 of its 15 first-half turnovers and hit 11-of-14 from the floor -- including 6-of-7 from 3-point land.

Five of those long-distance connections came courtesy of the Hochstetler twins -- seniors Leah and Launa -- as they combined for 16 straight points to end the first quarter and 19 in all during the run.

"Launa really got us going, and I've told her time-and-time again that's her job," Schlabach said of the Eastern District Player of the Year.  "There is going to come a point in some of our games where she is going to have to take over."

Launa drained three 3-pointers in the final 1:31 of the first, her pull-up from the right wing with five-seconds left giving the Hawks a 22-7 lead.  Leah had a 3, two free throws and a pullback to start the whole shebang, while Rachel Thomas and Jena Stutzman were also key.

"When you're adding by 3, it doesn't take long for a run like that to add up," Rosecrans coach Chad Shawger said. "We got away from our game plan and got a little rattled.  You could just see the fire in the Hiland girls' eyes.  They're on a mission to not only get back to state, but win it this time."

For the sixth time in 11 years, Hiland and Rosecrans were playing for a district championship.  The Hawks have won four in a row.

Hiland, which lost in the Div. IV state semifinals last season, now advances to the Pickerington North High School Regional.  The Hawks, who were ranked No. 1 in every Associated Press poll this winter, will meet 15th-ranked Columbus Africentric on March 3 (6:15).  Africentric beat Morral Ridgedale 47-27 Friday at the Westerville Central District.

"We've seen (Africentric) play a number of times, and we've said since Day 1 that they would be the best team on our schedule," Schlabach said.  "They're a lot like Hoban, except they have a 6-foot-3 girl on the inside.  Our defense in the halfcourt must improve if we want to play some more after that."

With waves of substitutions Friday, Hiland showed the depth that has it so highly regarded.  The Hawks had nine players log between 10 and 26 minutes and five of those score between eight and 14 points.

Launa Hochstetler paced the winners with 14 points, seven assists and six steals, while junior forward Lindsay Stuckey had 11 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

Leah Hochstetler popped in 10 points, while Jena Stutzman and Thomas (eight rebounds) added eight.

"We're going to need (Rachel Thomas) in a big way against Africentric, and she should walk out of here with some confidence knowing she was a big part of our success tonight," Schlabach said.  "We're going to need more efforts like that if we want to keep playing."

Rosecrans, which went from 1-20 last season to district runner-up in Shawger's first year on the bench, was led by Marisa Sidwell's nine points.  The small, quick Bishops were outrebounded 41-21 and finished with 24 turnovers -- helping Hiland amass a 44-15 advantage in points off turnovers.

"Our girls deserve a lot of credit for getting to this point, but Hiland deserves a lot of credit for showing us how it's done," Shawger said.  "We executed our game plan for four-and-a-half minutes, but Hiland made sure it played 32 minutes."