Mustangs clamp down, smash Solon

MOUNT VERNON -- Uncontested shots were a rarity for the Solon Lady Spartans.So were made shots.Class 3A second-ranked Mount Vernon unleashed a killer triangle-and-two scheme, forcing Solon into 22-percent shooting and 26 turnovers and rolled to a 53-27 triumph in a Wamac Conference East Division girls' basketball game Friday night at Mount Vernon High School."We wanted to guard their 3-point shooters, and it worked out really well," said Mount Vernon's Courtney Kintzel.Mount Vernon (6-1 overall, 4-0 Wamac East) yielded just nine field goals in 41 attempts. When the Lady Spartans (5-2, 2-2) set to shoot, a Mustang hand was generally in their face."We figured they had to go through (Danielle) Herdliska and (Kelsey) Dircks," said Mustangs Coach Bob Kintzel. "We wanted to force their other girls to step up."While Solon had difficulties from the floor, the Mustangs had no problems at the line. Mount Vernon was 22 of 26 from the foul stripe.All of that led to a comfortable victory.Mount Vernon led from start to finish. After a slow start, the Mustangs assembled a 7-0 run for an 11-3 lead, then built an 11-0 dagger to start the second quarter to extend the lead to 26-8.It was 30-14 at halftime, 39-17 after three quarters."Mount Vernon had a nice game plan. Give them all the credit in the world," said Solon Coach Mark Sovers. "They definitely showed us some things we need to work on if we want to get to that level."Five Mount Vernon players scored eight points or more; none from Solon scored more than seven.Taylor Dicus led the Mustangs with 12 points. Micah Wieditz came off the bench to score 10. Kintzel, Amanda Platte and Liz Skotowski tallied eight apiece.Kintzel grabbed 11 rebounds as the Mustangs enjoyed a 42-28 advantage on the glass.Mount Vernon has concluded its pre-holiday slate; the Mustange host No. 3 DeWitt Central in a showdown Jan. 4."We're excited for that," Coach Kintzel said. "Obviously, that's going to be a very good game."Solon is at Mid-Prairie on Tuesday.

AT MOUNT VERNON

SOLON (27): Courtney Holub 1-2 0-0 2, Danielle Herdliska 0-6 3-5 3, Ashley Holubar 2-10 0-2 4, Kelsey Dircks 2-9 2-2 7, Brie Winegar 1-6 0-0 2, Rylee Smith 2-4 2-4 6, Melanie Breza 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Villagrana 1-2 0-0 2, Kelsey Cave 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 9-41 8-15 27.

MOUNT VERNON (53): Kylea Weber 0-1 0-0 0, Liz Skotowski 2-10 2-2 8, Taylor Dicus 3-8 6-8 12, Courtney Kintzel 3-7 2-2 8, Amanda Platte 3-6 2-2 8, Sarah Ryan 1-2 3-4 5, Micah Wieditz 2-9 5-6 10, Miranda Chapman 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 14-44 22-26 53.

Halftime: Mount Vernon 30, Solon 14.

3-point goals: Solon 1-11 (Herdliska 0-1, Holubar 0-1, Dircks 1-6, Winegar 0-2, Smith 0-1), Mount Vernon 3-11 (Skotowski 2-5, Wieditz 1-6).

Team fouls: Solon 19, Mount Vernon 11.

Fouled out: none.

Rebounds: Solon 28 (Smith 5), Mount Vernon 42 (Kintzel 11).

Assists: Solon 3 (Herdliska 2), Mount Vernon 7 (Platte 5).

Steals: Solon 10 (Herdliska, Smith 3), Mount Vernon 12 (Wieditz 5).

Turnovers: Solon 26, Mount Vernon 21.