Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – A second one-point road loss in as many weeks had Solon searching for a spark entering its non-conference matchup with Class 2A No. 14 West Branch on Monday.

The Spartans found what they were looking for in the form of a special senior night effort from Makinley Levin.

Levin had 13 of her game-high 22 points as Solon pulled away for a 64-41 win over the Bears in Solon.

“We were all fired up after Friday and we really just needed to come out and attack right off the bat and keep the energy level up,” Levin said. “When we were warming up we were so excited. The energy was out of the roof, more than we’ve ever had before and I just loved it.”

West Branch (12-4) got double-doubles from both Delaynie Luneckas and freshman August Palmer and trailed just 34-28 early in the third quarter.

Solon (10-7) used a 14-0 run that featured six points from Levin and spanned more than four minutes to take control.

“I think we felt a lot of urgency,” Solon coach Jamie Smith said. “The second half we were there last week in the same type of situation and tonight I thought our defense was really good which led to a lot of offense.”

On a night when Solon honored its seniors Levin, a four-year starter, came up big.

Levin went 10-of-13 from the field, hitting 2-of-3 three-point attempts, on her way to 22 points.

“Makinley hit some big shots and that was good to see,” Smith said. “She has been through it the last four years and she has taken some chewings from me and she keeps coming back. I am happy that tonight was a big night for her.”

Levin gave Solon a boost before the half with a three-pointer from the corner that put the Spartans up 32-24 at intermission.

She didn’t miss from the field in the third quarter, scoring eight points on 4-of-4 shooting as Solon built a 20-point lead after three quarters.

“It had been a while since I’ve had a game like that,” Levin said. “My shot has been off a little bit and it’s been kind of tough but it was nice tonight that my teammates were able to find me and get me some open shots that I could make.”

Solon forced West Branch in six turnovers and limited the Bears to just nine field goal attempts in the third quarter while outscoring West Branch 21-9.

“We just kind of had a defensive mental lapse there and we gave them what they wanted too much but I’m proud of our kids,” West Branch coach Jarod Tylee said. “They played hard and Solon is a good team.”

West Branch got 22 points and 14 rebounds and 17 points and 10 boards from Palmer but the rest of the Bears combined for just two points.

Luneckas had all nine West Branch points in the third quarter.

“Delaynie was outstanding,” Tylee said. “I felt like we could have taken advantage of her even more, she was really good on the box and they didn’t really have an answer for her.”

Callie Levin had 17 points and seniors Ava Stebral, Kaia Holtkamp, Elly Holubar and Alex Locke combined for 22 points for Solon.

Holtkamp had eight points and Holubar had four points and five rebounds.

“I think we are a scary team,” Smith said. “I love this team, I still like where we are at and I wouldn’t want to play us.”

Solon                           17  15  21  11  –  64

West Branch              12  12   9    8   –  41

Solon (64) – Mia Stahle 0-2 0-0 0, Claire LaDage 1-2 0-0 3, Ava Stebral 2-7 0-0 6, Kaia Holtkamp 4-10 0-0 8, Hailey Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Makinley Levin 10-13 0-1 22, Callie Levin 7-19 1-2 17, Alex Locke 1-1 2-2 4, Elly Holubar 2-3 0-3 4, Totals 27-58 3-8 64.

West Branch (41) – Kylie Pickett 0-2 0-0 0, Delaynie Luneckas 10-24 2-4 22, August Palmer 7-19 2-5 17, Madison Hovancik 0-0 0-0 0, Alyse Klinkkammer 0-0 0-0 0, Iva Senio 1-1 0-1 2, Avery Schultes 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 18-46 4-10 41.

3-point field goals – SOL 7-19 (Stahle 0-1, LaDage 1-2, Stebral 2-7, Holtkamp 0-1, M. Levin 2-3, C. Levin 2-5), WB 1-5 (Pickett 0-2, Luneckas 0-1, Palmer 1-2). Rebounds – SOL 33 (C. Levin 7), WB 31 (Luneckas 14). Turnovers – SOL 6, WB 17. Total fouls – SOL 12, WB 7. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.

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