Alburnett earns first girls’ basketball win over Maquoketa Valley in nearly 16 years

Varsity Bound is a tremendous historical resource, but it only goes back so far.

In this case, not far enough.

“After the game, some of us were trying to figure out how long it had been since the last time (we had beaten Maquoketa Valley),” Alburnett girls’ basketball coach Brenden Drahn said Wednesday.

Varsity Bound tracks through the beginning of 2008. It had been longer than that.

Here’s your answer: Jan. 23, 2007. That’s a span of 29 consecutive Maquoketa Valley wins.

And it ended Tuesday night.

Ally Olmstead registered 17 points and 12 rebounds in the Pirates’ surprising 56-33 victory over the Wildcats.

“I wasn’t expecting that (outcome) either,” said Drahn, the Pirates’ fourth-year coach. “We lost a couple of close games to them last year. They are traditionally very good, and when it’s close, they always seem to get us in the fourth quarter.”

Not this time. Alburnett (3-1 overall, 2-1 Tri-Rivers West Division) didn’t miss a shot in the final period Tuesday, outscoring the Wildcats 23-9 and pulling away.

“We attacked the inside really well,” Drahn said. “We were 10-for-10 inside the 3-point line in the second half. Ally and Lacey (Neighbor) got where they wanted to.

“Something just clicked. We were attacking and cutting strong. We’d been having 20-25 turnovers per game, but we only had 14 (Tuesday).”

Neighbor added 14 points, Isabelle Graubard tallied 13.

A junior, Olmstead is among the state’s leading rebounders at 16.0 per game.

With perennial state powers like North Linn, Springville and Maquoketa Valley embedded at the top of the Tri-Rivers West, it’s difficult for the rest of the pack to gain traction. East Buchanan has made progress in recent years. The Pirates are trying to do the same.

“Maquoketa Valley has been one of those teams at the top. Our goal is to keep working toward the top,” Drahn said. “There aren’t many easy games. We just want to prove that when you see NORTH LINN or MAQUOKETA VALLEY on the other team’s jerseys, you don’t have to be scared.”

The Pirates host Class 1A No. 3 North Linn (5-0, 3-0) on Friday. The Lynx have won their first five games by an average of 44.8 points.

Levin: 1,000 points in 50 games

Callie Levin became the sixth player in Solon history to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career, and was probably the second fastest to get there.

A junior and a University of Iowa commit, Levin scored 18 points in the Spartans’ 65-53 victory Tuesday at Vinton-Shellsburg, running her career total to 1,007.

She did so in her 50th career game. She is averaging 20.1 points per game in her career, 22.0 this season.

Another Solon-to-Iowa product, Lindsey Meder scored 2,057 points in her career with the Spartans (1993-97).

Solon is 4-0 this season and faces back-to-back-to-back toughies in Center Point-Urbana (home), Clear Creek Amana (away) and Marion (home) in the next eight days.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com