Fueled by defensive energy and backed by a loud home crowd on Youth Basketball Recognition Night, the Solon girls basketball team earned a 56-37 win Friday at home against Marion. The 9th-ranked Spartans (11-5 overall) completed a season sweep of the Wolves (6-11 overall) after an overtime win on January 13th.
The Spartans welcomed the Wolves with a streak of deep threes from Jerzey Haluska, Laney Johnson and Delainey Durr. Both teams were turning over the ball and shooting with confidence in the first quarter but seemed to lose it at the start of the second. Solon’s offensive rhythm stalled and in a time-out in the second quarter, Coach Jamie Smith responded by saying, “Move the ball. If you don’t think they come to play when they play us, you’re mistaken.”
Physical play quickly ramped up after halftime. The third quarter revealed multiple team and personal fouls. Marion’s Harlow Griffin picked up her third personal foul with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter, while Solon’s Laeni Hinkle quickly followed with her third personal foul early on in the fourth. The second half defined the game with the Spartans seamlessly pulling away from Marion’s defensive pressure.
Junior Laney Johnson led all scorers with 18 points, providing a steady presence throughout the game. Freshman Tenly Levin added 16 points while senior Delainey Durr contributed 14 points to round out a balanced scoring effort for the Spartans.
Following the win, Coach Smith touched on the theme of the night, defensive drive.
“Defensive pressure was really, really good, and I thought we rebounded pretty well,” he said. “We’ve been really hard on defense the last week. We still have to get better moving the ball on offense.”
Coach Smith also emphasized the importance of defending the home court in conference play.
“Anytime you can beat a WaMaC team at home, like Marion, it’s a great night,” he said.
Following this 19-point victory, the team is looking to continue to bring their defensive intensity on the road with them to Williamsburg next week.
Solon 53 CPU 44
It was a battle of ranked teams Tuesday, Jan. 27 as No. 9 (in Class 4A) Solon hosted the Stormin’ Pointers of Center Point-Urbana (No. 14 in Class 3A) in a WaMaC East clash.
The Lady Spartans jumped out to a 14-10 lead to win the first period. The Pointers stormed back in the second as the game tied at 14-14, 16-16, and the half ended in a 20-20 tie. The game stayed close in the third, tying at 22-22 and 24-24 until a pair of Delainey Durr free throws gave Solon a 26-24 lead. Durr later sank a three-pointer to cap a ten-point run for a 34-24 lead and a CPU time out. Solon entered the final eight minutes with a 38-30 advantage.
Freshman Tenley Levin led all with 24 points while senior Durr produced 13 and junior Jerzey Haluska had a ten point night. Juniors Laney Johnson and Laeni Hinkle had three points each. Levin dominated the boards with ten rebounds and four blocks, Durr made three assists, three steals, and one block.