Douglas Miles

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Callie Levin is going to get her points.

But when the Solon junior standout has multiple teammates joining her in the box score with double-figure scoring numbers, the Spartans are an awfully tough matchup.

“All of us just had that mindset that we were going to come out and no matter who we are playing, we are just going to play as hard as we can,” Levin said after pouring in a game-high 27 points in less than three quarters of action as the Class 3A second-ranked Spartans routed Davis County 71-43 in a regional semifinal Wednesday night at Solon High School. “I think it helped that we had a lot of girls just running the court tonight and that got us started. Defense going into offense. That was big for us tonight.”

Levin drilled four of Solon’s nine three-point baskets and her 27 points were just one short of equaling her highest output of the season.

At 18.9 points per contest, the Iowa commit ranks eighth among all 3A scorers.

“She knows she doesn’t have to do it all,” Solon coach Jamie Smith said. “She has matured a lot. When she was a freshman, she would have taken a whole bunch more shots.”

Junior Hailey Miller added 16 points for Solon (21-2) which included three three-point baskets.

Like Levin, sophomore guard Kobi Lietz posted her second-best scoring night of the season with a 13-point effort, including a sequence of three buckets in consecutive trips down the floor as the Spartans built a 28-7 first quarter lead.

“It is a really big confidence booster,” Lietz said. “It just gets our team going.”

The defensive effort from Solon was spectacular all night.

Davis County had just 27 points as a team as of the final few moments of the third quarter before a scoring flurry against the Solon reserves.

“Ball pressure,” Lietz said. “We know we are really good defensively. We just keep putting it on them and gave all our effort and don’t give up.”

Junior Anna Quillin and senior Hilary Wilson each grabbed nine rebounds for Solon, which led by as many as 35 points in the third quarter and surpassed the 70-point scoring mark as a team for the second time in five days and just the fourth time this season.

“Our team is stacked,” Levin said. “Anyone can be on any night. It is so awesome to be able to pass it to anyone and I just know that they are going to knock it down.”

Sophia Young scored 15 points and Kennedy Skaggs added 14 for Davis County, which ends its season at 9-14.

Solon will host a regional final on Saturday at 7 against a foe it knows quite well.

Its Highway 1 rival, Mount Vernon (16-7), advanced with a 46-39 win Wednesday over Davenport Assumption.

The Spartans already own two victories over the 11th-ranked Mustangs this season, but both were by narrow margins.

Solon won by six points at Mount Vernon on Jan. 17, then edged the Mustangs by one, 50-49, at Solon’s ‘Senior Night’ two weeks ago.

Levin recorded 24 and 20 points, respectively, in the two wins over Mount Vernon.

A third victory over the Mustangs would give Solon its first state tournament berth since 2006.

“All of us are just so pumped up,” Levin said. “It is just going to take heart. It is going to take effort, hard work. We are going to come out on Saturday like we have never come out before, so they better watch out.”

Davis County             7  15   9  12  –  43

Solon                          28 13  23   7  –  71

Davis County (43) –  Sophia Young 6 3-3 15, Jalee Lough 0 0-0 0, Laynee Moore 0 0-0 0, Reese Humphrey 1 5-6 7, Ella Porter 1 0-0 2, Jada Will 0 1-2 1, Charley Barnhart 2 0-0 4, Kennedy Skaggs 5 4-5 14, Kaitlyn Olinger 0 0-0 0, Totals 15 13-16 43.

Solon (71) – Kobi Lietz 5 2-3 13, Hailey Miller 5 3-5 16, Mia Stahle 1 0-0 2, Callie Levin 9 5-7 27, Hilary Wilson 0 2-2 2, Anna Quillin 1 4-6 6, Kerrigan Lyons 0 0-0 0, Addi Greene 1 0-0 3, Claire LaDage 1 0-0 2, Delainey Durr 0 0-0 0, Trea Eidahl 0 0-0 0, Akor Balmer 0 0-0 0, Gable Knight 0 0-0 0, Totals 23 16-23 71.

Three-point goals – DC 0, SOL 9 (Levin 4, Miller 3, Lietz 1, Greene 1). Rebounds – DC 17 (Lough 5, Porter 5), SOL 33 (Quillin 9, Wilson 9). Total fouls – DC 16, SOL14; Fouled out – None.

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