Tuesday Night Lights: Solon vs CCA Recap
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On Tuesday night I had the chance to attend one of the most anticipated matchups of the season thus far throughout the state of Iowa. The contest was between the #1 ranked team in the 3A Class – the Solon…
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Continue ReadingOn Tuesday night I had the chance to attend one of the most anticipated matchups of the season thus far throughout the state of Iowa. The contest was between the #1 ranked team in the 3A Class – the Solon Spartans, against the #2 ranked team in the 4A Class – the CCA Clippers. Plain and Simple, this game was a battle. In the article below I am going to recap everything I saw, give some of my in-game thoughts and then cover some of the most important players of the contest.
Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!
Starters:
CCA – Averie Lower Averie Lower 5'11" | SG Clear Creek Amana | 2026 State IA (SR), Kaylee Stratton (SR), Bliss Beck Bliss Beck 6'0" | C Clear Creek Amana | 2024 State IA (SR), Ava Locklear Ava Locklear 5'11" | SF Clear Creek Amana | 2024 State IA (SR), Sam Schrage (SR)
Solon – Callie Levin Callie Levin 5'10" | PG Solon | 2024 State IA (SR), Hailey Miller Hailey Miller 5'8" | SG Solon | 2024 State IA (SR), Kobi Lietz (JR), Mia Stahle (SR), Anna Quillin (SR)
Tipoff – 7:30 PM CT
To start off this game I was curious as to which defense each team would play. Both rosters are stacked with college commits or college level talent at several different levels so defense was going to be the most important part of the strategy for each of these programs down the stretch.
The game started off slow. Both teams played a zone or a full court press into a zone, whenever the opportunity presented itself early on. The first 10 possessions were rough between each group. They were getting somewhat open looks but no one could consistently put the ball in the basket. Finally, Solon got the the scoring started and jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead off of a pair of three pointers made by Hailey Miller Hailey Miller 5'8" | SG Solon | 2024 State IA and Callie Levin Callie Levin 5'10" | PG Solon | 2024 State IA .
Following these two makes, Averie Lower Averie Lower 5'11" | SG Clear Creek Amana | 2026 State IA came down and spotted up for CCA, hitting a deep three of her own in transition. Making the game a little bit closer.
CCA – 3, Solon – 6
Timeout – 4:16 left in the 1st Quarter
Coming out of the timeout both teams still struggled on the offensive side of things. Both zones were working how each coach anticipated, making this game seem more like a marathon, rather than a sprint. It took each team 2-3 passes or rotations of the ball to get it down the floor and into their offense. Once they finally got it there, the Clippers started to push ahead. They hit another shot from deep by Lower and a few buckets at the rim by their post players after stops on the defensive end, including a very intelligent hesitation move on the right wing, to end the first quarter by Ava Locklear Ava Locklear 5'11" | SF Clear Creek Amana | 2024 State IA .
CCA – 13, Solon – 8
Start of the 2nd Quarter –
With a close matchup like this, you always have to have your head on swivel and be ready to adapt. There are going to be runs put together by both teams throughout the game, each program just needs to weather the storm and help limit the damage as much as possible during those times. There was a 10-2 run by the Clippers to end that first quarter but to start the second, the Spartans would punch back.
Throughout the first three minutes of the second quarter, the Spartans put together a run of their own, taking a 16-13 lead. They were breaking the 1-3-1 zone of CCA and rotating the ball effortlessly for open jump shots. This would eventually force another timeout at the 4:32 mark, called by the Clippers.
Timeout – 4:32 left in the 2nd Quarter
After this timeout, these teams would continue to go back and forth. After the Spartans took the lead at 16-13, they never gave it back going into halftime. At one point, the Spartans were almost up 10 before the half but CCA would not go away quietly. Every time the Spartans hit a shot, the Clippers matched it so that the score stayed somewhat close. Although, the 2nd quarter did end on a three point buzzer beater by #1 Kobi Lietz of Solon, giving them a 7 point lead and some serious momentum moving into halftime.
Halftime: CCA – 20, Solon – 27
Start of the 3rd Quarter –
Kicking off the second half, it was going to be important for both teams to stay calm and consistent. Solon was up 7 but it could have been much more if they didn’t throw the ball into hands as much in the first half. While CCA was getting a lot of the looks they wanted, they just weren’t hitting their shots but things would change for both parties, rather quickly.
CCA started off by getting look after look at the rim. They made smart adjustments at halftime and that led to a lot of made layups by them, by the time this thing was over. While the Spartans, were getting much better looks themselves from deep, all over the floor. It seemed to me that both teams made the proper changes at half and because of that, they were getting anything they wanted offensively.
CCA – 24, Solon – 28
Timeout – 5:13 left in the 3rd Quarter
This timeout was the tipping point to me. After this timeout, things wouldn’t be the same throughout the rest of this contest. The Clippers started to really dig deep on defense and stop the duo of Levin and Miller from scoring the basketball. These are two individuals that you have to be aware of at all times when they step on the court against you and that was the case all game for the Clippers but it didn’t start to really set in until this point.
Throughout the next two minutes, the Clippers would start to creep up a little more. The Spartans still held the lead but you could tell that CCA wasn’t going away.
CCA – 28, Solon – 31
Timeout – 3:23 left in the 3rd Quarter
Following this timeout, prior to the 4th quarter, it was a very important three minutes stretch. Solon didn’t want to surrender the lead going into the 4th and the Clippers were trying to battle back to make this a manageable comeback in the end. After both teams threw some more punches, everything going into the 4th was basically tied up. The Spartans held on by one, hoping they could start off the 4th quarter and grow that lead till the end of the game.
CCA – 34, Solon – 35
Start of the 4th Quarter –
The Clippers started the quarter with the ball and got it to their most dominant player, Ava Locklear Ava Locklear 5'11" | SF Clear Creek Amana | 2024 State IA , near the rim for a quick bucket. Immediately to follow, they got a stop on defense, came back down on offense and hit a deep three. The very next possession, the Spartans turned over the ball at the top of the wing, leading the Clippers to a fast break layup and a quick timeout by the Spartans. This was an important three possession stretch that changed the outcome of the game, giving all the momentum to CCA.
CCA – 41, Solon – 35
Timeout – 6:54 left in the 4th Quarter
At this point is when everyone starts to see the full force of the Clippers and what they can really do. They were making almost every shot they took and doing anything they wanted to offensively from this point on.
Levin and Miller would do what they could but it’s really tough when you have five players on the other team, watching and helping against your every move. There were several situations in this game and specifically the 4th Quarter, when Levin was put into the middle of the zone on offense and as soon as she caught it, there were four blue jerseys on her, forcing her to pass the ball back up out to the perimeter. She had SOME open looks in the last 5 minutes but nothing to write home about. Every shot they made her take, was extremely difficult. Shots you wouldn’t even expect a Power-5 player to make consistently.
CCA – 51, Solon 37
Timeout – 3:13 left in the 4th Quarter
Both groups would fight until the buzzer trying to get buckets but this one would end with a CCA Clippers victory. The difference in the score wouldn’t change much the last 3 minute but it wasn’t due to lack of effort. Each team gave it their all and played a really smart, competitive game.
Final: CCA – 58, Solon – 37
Other Notes:
Neither of these teams are going to see each other again this season and that’s okay. With such a highly ranked battle, we tend to forget how early on in the season it is and that this game specifically is just a measuring tape. All this contest really does, is show what each program needs to work on from a team perspective, while helping the players see some really good competition prior to them having to play an elimination game later in the season. If anyone is walking away from this game feeling like a loser, they are looking at it in the wrong way. These two groups won’t have to face off during the State Playoffs so I don’t think they should dwell too much on this one. My advice would be to sit back and learn something from it, or move on. Nothing more, nothing less.
The star players showed out and so did the supporting cast for each team. On the Solon side of things – Callie Levin Callie Levin 5'10" | PG Solon | 2024 State IA and Hailey Miller Hailey Miller 5'8" | SG Solon | 2024 State IA gave you the constant production they always do. The players around them stepped up early on in the game to make big shots but fell short late and that’s what the difference was in this game. I don’t anticipate Solon having to matchup with anyone quite like this again during the 2023-2024 season but if they want to take this thing all the way, they will need two or three more constant producers on offense to stick with those great teams in the 3A Class around the state. As for Clear Creek Amana – Ava Locklear Ava Locklear 5'11" | SF Clear Creek Amana | 2024 State IA absolutely dominated her matchup and would be my player of the game. I will mention though that things only got started because of the production early on in the contest by Averie Lower Averie Lower 5'11" | SG Clear Creek Amana | 2026 State IA . Everyone else was chipping in but she was really the standout in the first half for me on the Clippers side. When it comes to the second half, it’s a different story, this is where I think Lena Evans (SO), Kiera Rogers (SR), and Kennedy Stratton (SO) made an impact. In the fourth quarter, it was Evans who tallied three assists in a row for easy buckets at the rim after breaking Solon’s press. That, along with hitting a big three in the first half to keep the game close, impacted things majorly in the end.
It’s important to remember why these teams are playing the types of defenses that they are in a game like this. When I’m in the crowd, I hear spectators make comments or question why a coach may defend, how he is. That just speaks to how good some of these players are. If you don’t play a zone or a certain way, any of these competitors could go out and give you 30, 15, and 7. It’s also important to realize that the numbers that are being put up by each of these teams star players, makes everything I’m talking about more impressive. In reality, you have two teams, game planning to stop the best 1-2 players on the other side, preparing the entire week or even month for each other and those players are still out there getting 22+ points, along with a ton of other positive stats. That is a lot tougher then most people in the crowd are giving them credit for.
Each of these programs will have a good shot to make their perspective Classes State Tournament at the end of this season. They are each good enough in almost every aspect you can account for at this point. It’s a long season and they will have some things to figure out on the way but if they take care of business, they will each be probable to make it to Des Moines at the end of the year. No doubt about that.
Hats off to both coaching staffs. You can tell the preparation that was put in place for this contest. You can also tell the mutual respect that these these two heavy-weight programs have for each other on the hardwood. Wether it’s between the players or the coaching staffs, everyone respects the opponent across from them and that’s something you love to see.