Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Since taking over at Solon prior to the 2018-2019 season Jamie Smith has talked a lot about the steps the program has taken in improving.

From three wins in his first season to nine in his second and 17 this season to go with a top-15 ranking Smith has pointed out many accomplishments, big and small, along the way.

The Spartans have an opportunity to celebrate one more step on Saturday and this one just happens to be a really big one.

Class 3A No. 12 Solon (17-5) will attempt to earn its first state tournament appearance since 2006 when it faces Davenport Assumption (7-11) in the Class 3A, Region 7 title game on Saturday at North Cedar High School in Clarence.

“Just to already be here is amazing for us,” Solon junior Elly Holubar said. “We haven’t won a first-round game in a long time, let alone a second-round game so just to have this opportunity whether we win or lose on Saturday is a huge step for us.”

Fresh off a semifinal upset of No. 10 Center Point-Urbana and with experience returning from a state tournament team a year ago Assumption presents a serious challenge for the Spartans on Saturday.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for Smith in his rapid rebuild of the Solon program was the first step – getting his team to believe they could win games.

It was tough during a 3-18 season in his first season, the Spartans began to believe they could compete during a nine-win season a year ago.

Early on this season Smith began to see his team knew it could compete with anyone.

“We started winning a few more games, and even in a few of the games we lost, they started to see we are a good team,” Smith said. “Our kids are at a point where they just keep playing and they expect to win games at the end.”

Solon overcame a 1-2 start to the season with a seven-game winning streak.

The Spartans followed a disappointing home loss to Dyersville Beckman on February 2 with four consecutive wins to reach the regional final.

In a 50-48 overtime win over Monticello the Spartans a pair of late deficits in both regulation and overtime to advance.

“I don’t think our girls know any better,” Smith said. “I think we are at that point now where it doesn’t matter who we play I think they believe we are going to win even if it comes right down to the end.”

The final step for Solon is a big one, literally in an Assumption team with three starters 5-foot-10 or taller including leading scorer 6-foot-2 Ava Schubert.

Assumption is a state tournament qualifier from a year ago and seeking a fourth state tournament trip in five seasons.

“When I look at Assumption I see a team that is well disciplined, with good size and good athletes,” Smith said. “And they have kids that have been there before.”

Class 3A, Region 7 Final 

No. 12 Solon (17-5) vs. Davenport Assumption (7-11)

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Where: North Cedar High School in Clarence

Top Players: Solon – Callie Levin, 5-9, Fr., 19.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.8 apg; Makinley Levin, 5-9, Jr., 9.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg; Kaia Holtkamp, 5-8, Jr., 8.7 ppg, 3 rpg, 2 apg. Davenport Assumption – Ava Schubert, 6-2, Soph., 12.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.1 bpg; Maddie Loken, 5-9, Jr., 7.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg; Anna Wohlers, 5-11, Sr., 6.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg.

About the Spartans: Solon has been one of the best stories in the state this season going from 3-18 two seasons ago to 17-5 and a berth in the regional finals.

The Spartans defeated No. 15 Monticello 50-48 in overtime in the semifinals on Wednesday and bring a four-game winning streak into Saturday’s regional final.

Prior to its opening-round win over Tipton the Spartans hadn’t won a postseason game since 2016 and now Solon is a win away from its first state tournament trip since 2006.

Solon features one of the top back courts in Class 3A led by freshman point guard Callie Levin who leads the Spartans in scoring at 19.6 points per game, assists at 3.8 and steals with 4.1.

Junior guards Makinley Levin and Kaia Holtkamp are each three-year starters and are averaging 9.4 points and 8.5 points per game respectively.

Junior forward Elly Holubar adds 4.5 points per game while leading the Spartans with 9.6 rebounds per contest.

About the Knights: Don’t be fooled by the record as very little about Assumption looks like a team four games below the .500 mark on the season.

The 7-11 mark for the Knights is a product of a tough schedule filled with close losses but make no mistake Assumption is a state tournament caliber team.

Assumption hadn’t played a 3A opponent this season before reversing a five-game losing skid to end the regular season with back-to-back regional wins over Maquoketa (50-37) and No. 10 and top-seeded Center Point-Urbana (40-31).

Of the 11 losses for Assumption seven have come by five points or fewer or in overtime.

The Knights are led by 6-foot-2 sophomore Ava Schubert who averages a team-high 12.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while junior guard Maddie Loken adds 7.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Anna Wohlers, a 5-11 senior, is averaging 6.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

What to Watch: For the second consecutive regional game Solon will be facing an opponent with a significant size advantage in the post.

At this point that is nothing new for the Solon which doesn’t have a player on its roster over 5-foot-9.
Despite its lack of height Solon has outrebounded each of its two postseason opponents by a total of 15 rebounds and has a 33-14 advantage in offensive rebounding in two postseason wins.

A big reason for the Spartans’ rebounding success is one of the shorter players in the Solon lineup in junior forward Elly Holubar.

The 5-foot-7 Holubar averages a team-high 9.6 rebounds per game and has 26 rebounds in two regional wins including a game-high 15 against No. 15 Monticello.

Holubar’s activity on the glass and on the defensive end will be key as Solon attempts to slow 6-foot-2 Assumption sophomore Ava Schubert and 5-foot-11 Anna Wohlers who combine to average nearly 14 rebounds per game.

A stalemate on the glass would be a win for Solon and finishing with a rebounding advantage for the third game in a row would go a long way in helping the Spartans reach the state tournament.

“The bigger the game the more important rebounding becomes,” Smith said. “I like our kids’ attitude when it comes to rebounding, they are just going and getting the ball. We have some kids that have the right attitude about going and getting the ball.”

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