SOLON — A new chapter in Solon Lady Spartan basketball will be written Monday night as the team makes it’s first State Tournament appearance since 2006.
After finishing the regular season at the top of the WaMaC East with a 13-1 record and knocking off rival Mount Vernon twice, Solon was in position to host all three games of the Regional series. Fairfield was the first victim, falling 75-31 in the quarterfinals Feb. 11. Next came wins over a pair of Mustangs – Davis County and a third battle with Mount Vernon.
Solon 71 Davis County 43
The Mustangs struck first with a free throw, but Solon quickly took a 10-5 lead with a three-pointer from Callie Levin and baskets from Mia Stahle and Kobi Lietz. Lietz followed a Mustang time out with a pair of baskets as the Lady Spartans built a 20-5 lead and ended the first period with a pair of three-pointers from Hailey Miller and Levin for a 28-7 advantage. With 5:08 left in the second period Solon’s lead had grown to 31-9. Miller drained her second three-pointer to make it 34-13 while Levin sank her third, beating the buzzer, for a 41-22 advantage at the half.
Sparty’s Ladies continued to pound the Mustangs in the third taking a 52-25 lead with another three-pointer from Levin, a pair of free throws from Hillary Wilson, and a three-pointer from Lietz. Miller drained yet another three-pointer making it 57-25 and hit a pair of free throws making it 62-27 and triggering the continuous clock. Solon finished the quarter ahead 64-31.
With just under five minutes to go in the fourth Claire LaDage, Delainey Durr, Addi Greene, Quillin, and Kerrigan Lyons took the floor. Sara Holtz came in off the bench soon after. With 2:46 remaining Solon led 66-36. LaDage scored making it 68-36, and with 1:46 left to play Trea Eidahl, Akor Balmer, Durr, Gabie Knight, and Green were conducting a mop up operation. Greene drained a three-pointer in the final seconds.
Levin led all with 27 points including four three-pointers, Miller had 16 points, Lietz produced 13, Quillin had a six-point night with three from Greene, and two apiece by Stahle, Wilson, and LaDage. Wilson led with nine rebounds, Lietz had four steals, and Levin made six assists.
Davis County ended their season at 9-14 overall and 4-10 in the South Central conference.
“I thought we played well,” said Head Coach Jamie Smith. “We got out early on both ends of the court. Our speed really showed and it was a great team effort.”
Solon 58 Mount Vernon 44
Conventional wisdom, and the sports writer’s handy list of clichés states it is very difficult for a team to defeat another three times in one season. Solon won at Mount Vernon Jan. 17 56-50 and pulled out a 50-49 win, that literally came down to the final seconds and a missed opportunity for the Mustangs, Feb. 3. When the squads met yet again last Saturday, not only was there the historic rivalry but the Region 2 Championship and a berth in the State Tournament were on the line. After the Davis County win, Levin told local media the Lady Spartans were going to come out against Mount Vernon like never before.
A pair of game opening three-pointers from Lietz gave Solon a quick 6-0 lead. Levin made it 8-2, Wilson nailed a pair of free throws, and Miller drained a three for a 13-4 lead, which prompted Mustangs coach Nate Sanderson to call for a 30-second timeout with 3:48 left in the first period. Solon took the quarter 20-11. Wilson drained a three in the second period making it 23-13 as Solon kept the Mustangs at bay for a 29-19 halftime lead.
Lietz sank her third three-pointer in the third period for a 36-25 lead, a Miller bucket made it 39-33 as the Mustangs crept up on the Lady Spartans, while a Stahle bucket made it 45-34. Solon took a 45-35 lead into the final eight minutes. Lietz sank her fourth and fifth three pointers back-to-back for a 51-37 advantage. Her sixth made it 54-40, and she put in Solon’s final points with a pair from the charity stripe to make it 58-42 with under a minute remaining.
“Big night for Kobi! Very proud of how she has matured this season,” said Smith. “Once she hit that first three, you could tell she was going to be ‘on.’ We did a great job of finding her when she was open in the fourth quarter.” Lietz, a sophomore, led all with a career-best 22 points. Miller had a 14-point night with 11 from Levin, five from Wilson, four by Quillin, and two from Mia Stahle. Levin led in rebounds with eight, Stahle made four steals and four assists, and Levin had five assists.
“I thought we played a complete game,” said Smith. “Defensively, one of our best games as a team. It’s always nice to beat a good team like Mount Vernon. And what another great atmosphere for a game, we have the best fans in the state!”
Next stop, the Well
The Class 3A State Tournament opens Monday, Feb. 27 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines with Estherville Lincoln Central and WaMaC West’s Vinton-Shellsburg tipping off at 5:00 p.m. followed by another WaMaC squad, Benton Community, tangling with Des Moines Christian around 6:45. The Lady Spartans will face No.7 Wahlert Catholic at 8:30 while West Marshall and Sioux Center will meet Tuesday morning.
Wahlert is 7-6 in the Mississippi Valley Conference Mississippi Division, which includes Liberty High, Xavier Catholic (Cedar Rapids), Prairie, and Cedar Rapids Jefferson and is 18-6 overall. The Golden Eagles soared past Crestwood 62-43, Monticello 56-51, and Osage 57-35 to get to Des Moines.
When asked about seeing familiar if not friendly faces in the 3A brackets, Smith said “Everyone is good at State, and it also shows how good our conference is with three teams represented. We are very excited to get to the Well! We think we have a chance to go down and get in the mix.”
Ticket and live-stream information was not available by this edition’s deadline but should be posted on https://ighsau.org.
The Lady Spartans celebrate a 58-44 Class 3A Region 2 Final win over Mount Vernon, and receiving the State Qualifier banner Saturday, Feb. 18. The win sends the Lady Spartans to the Girls State Basketball Tournament Monday night at 8:30 p.m. in Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.