Fear subsides, then Solon girls’ basketball surges past Marion

SOLON — They started with fear. They finished with a flourish.

The Solon Spartans sprinted home with a 13-2 surge and topped Marion, 53-42, in a Wamac Conference girls’ basketball game Tuesday night at Solon High School.

Solon (9-6 overall, 4-2 Wamac East) erased a 10-point first-half deficit and crept within a game of the division-leading Wolves (8-5, 5-1).

Both teams are 8-4 in the conference.

“I think we were a little scared early in the game,” said Solon sophomore Callie Levin, a University of Iowa commit who led all scorers with 21 points. “They’re a lot taller than us, and they had beaten us (earlier this season).

“You can’t be timid in these games. We just took over.”

The Spartans had two pivotal surges in this one. The first was a 10-0 spree to erase a 26-18 halftime deficit.

The second pushed them away from a 40-40 tie in the final 3 1/2 minutes.

MaKinley Levin’s basket put the Spartans ahead for good, then Callie Levin scored seven points in the final 3:14, including a 3-pointer that made it 47-42.

“We played with more energy in the second half. We were a little tight early. Some of that was Marion,” Solon Coach Jamie Smith said.

“If we want to win the conference, this was one we had to have.”

Marion dominated the glass in the first half by a 23-9 margin, allowing the Wolves to pull ahead. The Wolves’ largest advantage was 23-13, and it would have been greater had they finished on more inside opportunities after grabbing offensive rebounds.

The final rebounding count was 44-26, but that was neutralized somewhat by the Wolves’ 23 turnovers. Callie Levin collected four steals.

Ava Stebral and MaKinley Levin added 12 points apiece for the Spartans.

Stebral had two of her three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

“We have to hit some 3-pointers to beat good teams, and those were huge,” Smith said.

Ella Bockenstedt paced Marion with nine points and 16 rebounds. Ava Attwood and Mila Van Weelden chipped in with eight points apiece.

BOYS: MARION 43, SOLON 36

Marion’s Brayson Laube led all scorers with 18 points, including a major three-point play with 4:52 to go, and the Wolves improved to 10-3 overall, 7-2 in the Wamac, 4-2 in the division.

Solon (8-6, 6-5, 3-3) closed within 32-29 early in the fourth quarter, but the Wolves answered with a 9-2 run to push the advantage to 10.

Jake Benzing led the Spartans with 16 points. Jacob Timmons added 11.

Solon 53, Marion 42

At Solon

MARION (42): Ava Attwood 3-10 1-1 8, Molly Dunne 1-1 0-0 2, Sadie Struchen 2-8 2-2 7, Ella Bockenstedt 4-14 1-2 9, Mila Van Weelden 4-11 0-0 8, Regan Rice 1-6 1-2 4, Jenna Heinricy 0-0 2-2 2, Grace Stephenson 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 16-53 7-9 42.

SOLON (53): Ava Stebral 4-9 1-2 12, Kaia Holtkamp 1-3 3-5 5, MaKinley Levin 5-10 1-3 12, Callie Levin 6-16 8-10 21, Elly Holubar 0-0 1-2 1, Hailey Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Hilary Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Claire LaDage 0-2 0-0 0, Mia Stahle 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 17-45 14-23 53.

Marion 17 9 8 8 — 42

Solon 11 7 15 20 — 53

3-point goals: Marion 3-11 (Attwood 1-4, Struchen 1-6, Rice 1-1), Solon 5-13 (Stebral 3-8, M. Levin 1-2, C. Levin 1-3). Team fouls: Marion 19, Solon 11. Fouled out: Attwood. Rebounds: Marion 44 (Bockenstedt 16), Solon 26 (M. Levin, Holubar 6). Assists: Marion 4 (Van Weelden 2), Solon 10 (Stebral, C. Levin 3). Steals: Marion 7 (Attwood 3), Solon 13 (C. Levin 4). Turnovers: Marion 23, Solon 15.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com