Solon's basketball teams ushers in the New Year splitting games against Williamsburg

Kicking off their first basketball games of 2023, the Solon Spartans hosted the Williamsburg Raiders in a WaMaC Conference doubleheader.

As both squads were coming off two-week holiday breaks, the girls basketball team clearly had not lost a step in its 67-35 victory.

However, mental errors plagued the boys team as Williamsburg managed to get the 69-58 win thanks to a strong second half.

The Spartan girls don't look like a team coming off a two-week layoff

With 15 days since their last game, it wouldn't have been ridiculous to believe that both teams would have their share of rust, especially early in the game.

However, the Spartans (8-1) showed that wasn't the case, starting the night in impressive fashion.

Through the opening quarter, they boasted a 21-4 lead, with 16 of those points coming from inside the paint.

Solon coach Jamie Smith wanted to come out with energy after the long layoff and said that his team's ability to wreak havoc defensively made the difference.

"No matter what happened, whether we were making or missing shots, we wanted to make sure we came out with some intensity," Smith said. "We know that we have to do things a bit differently defensively because we are mismatched most times size-wise. So we had to bring pressure and mix in some 1-3-1 and 2-3 against them."

The period helped to set the tone for the rest of the game as the Spartans' defense kept the Raiders from scoring more than 15 points in any frame.

Good luck to any defender tasked with slowing down Callie Levin

While several people came into 2023 with the cliche 'new year, new me' approach, it is safe to say that the entire Solon community is happy to see that senior Callie Levin has not changed her high-scoring ways.

The team's prolific scorer led all players with 26 points, topping her average of 18.3 coming into the game. Her impact was especially felt in the first half, where her 14 points were just a single point off of the scoring output of the entire Williamsburg team.

Levin said it wasn't the plan for her to rack up so many points, but she's willing to do whatever it takes to help the team.

"As a good player, you always want to score as many points as you can for your team to win," Levin said. "It does not matter if that is 15 points, 2 points, or 30 points, you just want to do whatever you can for the win. We got that done tonight and so now we just have to continue to win each day and focus on beating Benton on Friday."

Already top-10 among Class 3A scorers, with more games like this, it won't be a surprise to see her rise up the ranks quickly.

Spartan boys live and die by the 3-ball

The 3-point shot has become a vital part of the success of any offense. While it is easy for teams to overdo it, once they manage to find that balance, it can become their most potent weapon.

For Solon's boys team, the 3-point shot proved to be a friend and an enemy.

When trailing 6-0 in the first quarter, the Spartans (4-3) used two long-range shots to get onto an 8-0 run and take their first lead of the night.

However, the second quarter was a different story as Williamsburg began to use the shot to its advantage.

Trailing 14-13 to start the second quarter, the Raiders used their strong shooting beyond the arc to re-take the lead. Ultimately, they connected on four 3-pointers compared to just one for Solon in the frame.

As the Spartans tried to get their long-range shots to fall again in the second half, the Williamsburg managed to pull away with their ability to make their layups at an extremely proficient rate.

Junior forward Gehrig Turner recognized what went wrong for Solon and said the Raiders were just able to capitalize on easy shots.

"I thought that we were able to hit some 3-pointers at the start," Turner said. "That's usually how we beat teams, especially because we are one of the smaller teams in the conference. So, I thought that the difference was that we were relying on the 3 and they were able to get to the rim and shoot. In the second half, they shot 16-for-20, with 14 of those shots being layups. So, obviously, we are going to get cold at some point and they are not going to miss those layups."

The Spartans will have time to right the ship ahead of Friday's game against Benton.

The experience of Gehrig Turner proves to be invaluable

While no one would ever call the Spartans a flashy team, but they've found success because they have players who know their role and play it well.

One of the best at doing that is Turner.

He was a bright spot in an otherwise forgettable night for the Spartans. Turner is an impactful offensive player, ending the night with 13 points and routinely finding teammates for open shots, and is reliable in both perimeter and interior defense.

Spartans coach Jared Galpin appreciates Turner's reliability and said that his experience is what helped set him apart.

"Gehrig [Turner] is an experienced player," Galpin said. "He played for us last year and was a starter for us which gave him a lot of experience. He has definitely raised the level of his game. Scoring-wise and guarding-wise, he is reliable in that regard. So, having him and his experience from last year has helped."

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Solon basketball starts 2023 splitting doubleheader with Williamsburg