Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports  

SOLON – Locked in a tight game with Regina and struggling to get into an offensive rhythm Solon was in need of a spark.

The Spartans got a big boost off the bench in the form of one of its smallest players.

Sophomore Mia Stahle scored 10 second-quarter points to spark a stagnant Spartan offense as Solon (4-5) snapped a two-game losing skid with a 57-51 win over Regina on Thursday in a non-conference contest in Solon.

“Getting a boost off the bench can really do wonders and when Mia does something like that I think it does even more just because of her personality and her stature,” Solon coach Jamie Smith said. “She’s short but she plays big.”

The 5-foot-3 Stahle was huge for the Spartans on Thursday.

Stahle scored all 10 of her second-quarter points in the 4:26 of the first half as Solon turned a two-point lead into a 31-23 advantage it would never give up.

“When I come into the game I just want to try to hustle after everything,” Stahle said. “I feel like if I bring energy to the game it goes throughout the team and we all start hitting shots.”

Stahle brought immediate energy to a scuffling Solon offense on Thursday.

She hit her first shot attempt of the game, a 3-pointer with 4:26 left in the first half to give Solon an 18-14 lead.

“That first shot really helps,” Stahle said. “That gives you motivation for the rest of the game and helps you hustle even harder.”

Stahle had four points during a 6-0 Spartan run and capped the first half with a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left.

The sophomore guard made all four of her first-half shot attempts a boost to a Solon offense that made just 3-of-13 field goal attempts in a nine-point opening quarter.

“She gave us a huge boost because we were kind of struggling offensively,” Smith said. “They were playing pretty good defense on Callie and Mia really gave us a huge spark.”

Even with the spark from Stahle who entered the game 2.4 points per game Solon still couldn’t put away Regina (5-2) until the final minute.

The Regals trailed by as many as 10 in the third quarter but used an 8-0 run to get back into the game.

Solon led 42-34 after three quarters but Regina battled it’s way back into the game putting twith one at 47-46 on a layup my Morgan Miller with 3:13 left.

“We were on the cusp of flipping the script and they were needing to foul because we had the lead,” Regina coach Mary Rogers said. “We need to learn to finish and we will but I’m just happy that we get this game now and it’s only going to help to boost us forward in what is a really good conference.”

Solon scored the next five points on a layup by Elly Holubar off a baseline out of bounds play and a Callie Levin corner 3-pointer.

Levin was 3-of-10 from the field in the opening half but hit six of her final 10 field goal attempts including a pair of key fourth-quarter 3-pointers while racking up a game-high 27 points.

“Callie struggled the last game shooting and we talked about that, she’s going to have bad nights and I have more confidence in her shooting the ball than anybody I’ve ever had,” Smith said. “We ran two set plays and she hit them both and that was a big stretch.”

Senior Lily Simpson led Regina with 15 points and 14 rebounds, the fourth double-double for Simpson in seven games this season.

“I don’t know how many double-doubles she has this year but she is working really hard,” Rogers said. “She is playing really well.”

Freshman Morgan Miller had 12 points for Regina while Levin led Solon with 27 and Stahle had 11.

Solon                                      9   22  11  15   –  57

Regina                                   12  11  11  17   –  51

Solon (57) – Mia Stahle 4-5 1-2 11, Claire LaDage 1-1 0-0 2, Ava Stebral 2-3 0-0 5, Kaia Holtkamp 0-7 2-4 2, Makinley Levin 2-8 3-4 8, Callie Levin 9-21 6-9 27, Hilary Wilson 0-2 0-0 0, Elly Holubar 1-3 0-0 2, Totals 19-50 12-19 57.

Regina (51) – Alli Dillon 0-4 0-0 0, Grace Gaarde 2-6 1-3 6, Morgan Miller 6-13 0-0 12, Alli Clark 2-2 1-2 6, Hope Simpson 3-4 2-3 8, Gabby Sueppel 1-2 2-2 4, Lily Simpson 6-13 3-3 15, Totals 20-44 9-13 57.

3-point field goals – SOL 7-20 (Stahle 2-3, Stebral 1-2, Holtkamp 0-2, M. Levin 1-5, C. Levin 3-6, Wilson 0-1, Holubar 0-1), ICR 2-11 (Dillon 0-2, Gaarde 1-3, Miller 0-4, Clark 1-1, H. Simpson 0-1). Rebounds – SOL 30 (Holubar 8), ICR 31 (L. Simpson 14). Turnovers – SOL 11, ICR 13. Total fouls – 13, ICR 13. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.

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