SOLON — After a first half where points were hard to come by the Lady Spartans looked to their senior leader to awaken the offense. Kobie Lietz found her touch out of the break and scored two quick baskets on the top-ranked 3A Mount Vernon Mustangs. A travel by the Mustangs provided a rare opportunity for the Lady Spartans to build a run and bring the Mustang lead down to single digits.
The ball crossed the halfcourt line in the hands of Delany Durr and head coach Jamie Smith yelled out, “give the ball to Kobie!”
Sure enough, Beckett Kruse found Lietz in the post and with a nice entry pass and post move to the right, Lietz threw the ball through the twine for her sixth point in the first three minutes of the half. The Lietz-led run did not last, the Mustangs found their groove and took the game back over, draining multiple three-pointers down the stretch to suck the life out of the Lady Spartans.
Solon fell 33-57 against the visiting Mustangs.
“Their defense was really, really good,” said Smith, “I don’t know if it can get much better.”
The Mustang defense shut down the Lady Spartans to only ten points in the first half. Jerzey Haluska and Lietz led the team with three points each going into the locker room. The offense was consistently denied the lane and struggled to find space against the tight Mustang defense.
“We played scared the first half, we didn’t move the ball and kind of shelled up,” said Smith, “they took us out of everything we wanted to do.”
The Lady Spartans were able to turn it around in the second half offensively. A 23-point second half gave the team life. However, Mount Vernon answered nearly every Lady Spartan point immediately. Four of the Mustang starters scored in double figures. The smaller Lady Spartan guards provided much of the defensive effort. Quinn Armentrout and Lietz led the team in rebounding. Armentrout with six and Lietz with five.
“I don’t know if I want that stat every night, right?” said Smith, “But they’re good athletes so they want to go get them all.”
Delaney Durr knocked down a couple of threes in a late attempt to shrink the Mustang lead which gave her a team-high ten points in the loss.
Solon 76 Independence 34
The Lady Spartans opened the week on the road in Independence, hammering the 7-7 Mustangs 76-34 with five players in double digits led by Kobi Lietz with a game high 17 points. Beckett Kruse produced 16 with 14 from Delainey Durr, 12 by Quinn Armentrout, and 11 from Laney Johnson.
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Jan. 31, At Marion HS, 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 1, At Regina Catholic, Iowa City, 12:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 4, HOME vs. West Delaware, 6:00 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 7, HOME vs. Independence, 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 11, At Vinton-Shellsburg, 6:00 p.m.
Postseason
Saturday, Feb. 15 – 3A Regional Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Feb. 19 – 3A Regional Semifinals
Saturday, Feb. 22 – 3A Reginal Championships
Monday, March 3-Saturday, March 8 – 2025 State Tournament, Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines