Solon sophomore Callie Levin led the Lady Spartans with 24 points over the Mount Vernon Mustangs, 53-47, to end the regular season at home undefeated on Feb. 8.
Solon commences post season play at home hosting the 0-18 Burlington Grayhounds on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. in the Class 4A Region 4 Quarterfinal with the winner advancing to face the Benton Bobcats, in their den, on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. The Spartans closed out the regular season at Benton Community on Monday, Feb. 14.
The Lady Spartans affirmed the Jan. 15, 62-44 victory over the Mustangs by building an early lead in the first quarter with a 21-11 domination. MaKinley Levin dropped one within the arc to maintain a 33-24 halftime advantage. The Mustangs resurged slightly in the third quarter, entering the final eight minutes with Solon maintaining a 45-39 lead. Solon turned aside several Mustang assaults in the final eight minutes.
The environment for the girl-boy, varsity, double header, combined with the competition complemented by games for multiple levels in the High School’s other gymnasium, was electric due to the influx of spectators visiting from Mount Vernon generating one of the loudest environments, arguably, since the COVID pandemic.
“Having a good crowd is always a good thing,” hailed Head Coach Jamie Smith. “There was a lot going on Tuesday from youth to all levels playing on girls and boys side. We finished the regular season undefeated at home!”
Coach Smith praised the growth of the Lady Spartans following the completing the 2021-2022 home sweep after the harrowing final minutes of the quarter.
“A lot of hard work went into this, and we are reaping the rewards. Might sound cliché but everyone contributed at a high level. There are always tense moments for me as a coach. We have been in a lot of these positions lately, six to eight point games with three minutes left in game. We did a good job closing it out.”
Leaders for The Lady Spartans included: scoring — Callie Levin 24 (including four 3-pointers), Ava Stebral and Kaia Holtkamp eight, MaK Levin and Elly Holubar four, Claire LaDage three, Hailey Miller two; rebounds — Holubar five, Holtkamp and LaDage four, Callie Levin, MaK, and Miller two; assists — Callie Levin four, MaK three, Holubar and Holtkamp one; steals — Callie Levin four, MaK, LaDage, and Hilary Wilson one; blocks — Callie Levin one.
Both teams ended the game with 14 fouls with Solon besting the opposition in turnovers benefiting from the 16 committed by the Mustangs while limiting themselves to simply four.
The final regular season road game for Solon, 13-7 on the season, 10-5 in the WaMaC East and riding a four game winning streak, weighs little in the scheme of the post season on the surface, but has potential ramifications in the Class 4A Region 4 finals. Coach Smith favors the Lady Spartans’ chances and feels they possess the necessary focus.
“They are a lot like us,” he said. “They will shoot the three and look to get to the rim. We will have to make sure we get out on the shooters and do the best we can on limited drives.” He assured, “We are going there to win Monday. All the games mean something to us. We are going there to win.”
As far as the Burlington Grayhounds (0-18, 0-9 in the Southeast Conference), Coach Smith was accepting nothing as a guarantee during win-or-go-home play in the post season.
“Burlington will come to play,” he assessed. “If we do what we do, we will be playing next Saturday versus Benton. If we don’t, it will be a dog fight with Burlington. We are focused and ready to make a run to the Well.”

Gallery • 2 Photos

Jeff Hess

Lady Spartan senior Ava Stebral fires a shot from beyond the arc in the final minutes of Solon’s 53-47 win at home over the Mount Vernon Mustangs on Feb. 8.