Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Throughout its breakthrough season this winter Solon has demonstrated the ability to win games with strong offense, stingy defense or a combination of both.

On Friday the Spartans showed they are capable of winning with perhaps an even more valuable quality – toughness.

Class 3A No. 11 Solon overcame some early foul trouble and seven-point second-half deficit to down Benton Community 59-54 in WAMAC Conference cross-divisional thriller in Solon.

“There were a couple of games earlier in the season where we were in similar situations and maybe we miss some free throws or we don’t hit a shot or we don’t get a rebound but we did those things, we made those plays tonight and I think that all goes back to having a little bit of toughness,” Solon coach Jamie Smith said. “I think tonight our kids were saying ‘no way’. They were saying, ‘No way. We are winning this game tonight’.”

Kaia Holtkamp led three Solon players in double figures with 21 points, including the go-ahead layup with 1:38 left as Solon improved to 13-4 on the season with its third consecutive win.

Freshman Callie Levin had seven of her 13 points in the fourth quarter and Makinley Levin added 12 points as Solon snapped a five-game winning streak for Benton (11-5).

“I think we just kept playing, we didn’t do anything different we just kept after it,” Smith said. “We just kept at it. Callie (Levin) kept at it, Kaia (Holtkamp) was something special tonight and we just kept at it until the end.”

Everything on paper pointed to an even game.

Two teams with nearly identical records playing some of their best basketball of the season over recent weeks.

The game was as even as anticipated.

There were 13 lead changes in the first half alone and 21 in the game with the lead changing hands five times in the fourth quarter.

Holtkamp gave Solon the lead for good when she came up with a steal near half court and converted a driving layup on the other end to give the Spartans a 54-52 lead with 1:38 left.

“We were so pumped to play this game because they are a good team and it feels so awesome to finally win these games,” Holtkamp said. “I think we’ve got to the point where we feel like we are going to win.”

On the ensuing Benton Community possession Makinley Levin blocked a Jenna Twedt 3-point attempt and Holtkamp hit a pair of free throws with 39 seconds to give the Spartans a four-point cushion.

Twedt scored all 14 of the Bobcats’ first-quarter points and finished with a game-high 27 but had just two in the fourth quarter and missed her final five field goal attempts.

“We knew we couldn’t let her get a 3,” Levin said. “When I saw her come down with the ball I knew she was going to shoot it because she’s a great shooter and I just put my arm up.”

Solon led 15-14 after freshman Hailey Miller hit a 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer but Benton scored the final four points of the half to take a 31-27 halftime lead.

The Bobcats had the biggest lead of the game at 37-30 when Grace Embretson scored in the paint with 5:07 left in the third quarter.

Solon wouldn’t go away.

The Spartans got to within two on a Callie Levin conventional 3-point play and an Elly Holubar bucket.

Solon took its first lead of the second half at 40-39 on a coast-to-coast driving layup by Holtkamp with 1:09 left in the third quarter.

“We have really hit hard this year on having each others’ backs and making sure we help each other out,” Holtkamp said. “We know we are going to have people make plays.”

Solon grabbed the momentum entering the fourth quarter when Makinley Levin nailed a deep 3-pointer off a set play to beat the buzzer.

Levin finished 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, both coming in the final 1:53 of the third quarter highlighted by the buzzer-beating 3-pointer that gave the Spartans a 43-41 lead after three quarters.

“It was so exhilarating,” Levin said. “I hadn’t gotten a lot of open 3s that game but once I hit those two I felt like we were going to win.”

The teams traded leads in the fourth quarter until Holtkamp put the game away by scoring five of the Spartans’ final seven points.

Callie Levin had a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left to help seal the win.

Seven different Spartans scored on Friday as Solon shot 43 percent from the field and outscored the Bobcats 17-8 at the free throw line.

Holubar led the way with eight rebounds.

“I think it shows that yes Callie is really good but we’ve got some other players,” Smith said. “That makes us a team that can compete with a lot of teams.”

Solon                                     15  12  16  16  –  59

Benton Community              14  17  10  13  –  54

Solon (59) – Claire LaDage 0-2 0-0 0, Ava Stebral 2-6 0-0 5, Hailey Miller 1-2 1-2 4, Kaia Holtkamp 6-10 8-11 21, Makinley Levin 4-5 2-2 12, Callie Levin 4-12 4-5 13, Hilary Wilson 0-1 2-2 2, Elly Holubar 1-3 0-0 2, Totals 18-41 17-22 59.

Benton Community (54) – Emma Townsley 2-5 0-0 5, Peyton Pfiffner 0-3 0-0 0, Abby Rinderknecht 0-2 0-0 0, McKenna Kramer 4-11 0-0 8, Jenna Twedt 9-21 7-7 27, Zoey Junge 1-2 0-0 3, Grace Embretson 5-5 1-2 11, Totals 21-49 8-9 54.

3-point field goals – SOL 6-16 (Stebral 1-4, Miller 1-1, Holtkamp 1-4, M. Levin 2-2, C. Levin 1-3, Wilson 0-1, Holubar 0-1), BC 4-18 (Townsley 1-1, Pfiffner 0-1, Rinderknecht 0-1, Kramer 0-6, Twedt 2-8, Junge 1-1). Rebounds – SOL 29 (Holubar 8), BC 27 (Junge, Pfiffner 5). Turnovers – SOL 13, BC 12. Total fouls – SOL 13, BC 17. Fouled out – BC (Kramer). Technical fouls – None.

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