Solon girls storm back to force overtime, then outlast Marion, 60-53

MARION — His team trailing by 11 points at halftime, Jamie Smith saw two potential scenarios.

“Either we were going to lose by 20, or we were going to find a way to win it at the end,” the Solon girls basketball coach said. “There wasn’t going to be a middle point.”

Down by 12 points with less than five minutes left in regulation, Class 4A ninth-ranked Solon stormed back to force overtime, then outlasted Marion 60-53 in a Wamac Conference East Division battle Tuesday night at Marion High School.

“We’ve been down at halftime before,” senior Delainey Durr said. “We knew our shots would fall if we kept shooting.”

Solon (8-3 overall, 2-1 division) overcame a 0-for-15 start from the perimeter.

Freshman Tenley Levin — younger sister of University of Iowa player Callie Levin — paced the Spartans with 26 points and 13 rebounds.

Durr played with both of the sisters., winning a Class 3A state championship with Callie in 2024.

“(Tenley) is awesome,” Durr said. “I love her to death.”

Durr added 19 points, including seven straight after the Wolves (5-6, 0-2) closed within 50-48 early in overtime.

“Obviously, my shooting wasn’t great,” the Coe College commit said. “But when I saw that first 3-pointer go down, it got that momentum going for me.”

Marion took advantage of Solon’s icy start, and led 26-10 on Harlow Griffin’s basket at the 1:28 mark of the second quarter. But the Spartans scored the last five points of the half to nudge closer.

Still, Marion led 43-31 on Kendyl Aarhus’ 3-pointer with 4:50 left in regulation before Solon made its fateful push.

Durr hit her first 3-pointer, then followed with a backdoor three-point play. Levin converted a three-point play of her own, then nailed a long ball to make it 43-all with 2:15 to go.

Two free throws by Durr made it a 14-0 Solon run and put the Spartans in front for the first time, then Griffin’s basket got the Wolves back even to force overtime.

Griffin led the Wolves with 22 points (converting 10 of 13 shots) and 12 rebounds, and Rylee Boggess was good for nine points and nine boards off the bench. But the Wolves were 7 of 19 from the line, and four of them fouled out.

The rematch is Jan. 30 at Solon.

Solon 60, Marion 53 (OT)

At Marion

SOLON (60): Delainey Durr 5-17 7-8 19, Laney Johnson 1-8 2-2 5, Laeni Hinkle 1-4 1-4 4, Tenley Levin 8-20 8-16 26, Jerzey Haluska 1-5 0-0 3, Avery Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Ellie Durr 0-1 0-0 0, Teagan Zearley 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 17-56 18-30 60.

MARION (53): Kendyl Aarhus 3-12 0-0 9, Addison Eiben 0-4 3-4 3, Grace Whalen 0-0 0-0 0, Harlow Griffin 10-13 2-5 22, Ellie Morris 1-10 0-0 3, Rylee Boggess 4-7 1-3 9, Braelin Wieseler 1-3 0-4 2, Dado Gassama 1-4 1-2 3, Matayah Austin 1-1 0-1 2, Madison Rinderknecht 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 7-19 53.

Solon 6 9 11 19 15 — 60

Marion 14 12 7 12 8 — 53

3-point goals: Solon 8-36 (D. Durr 2-11, L. Johnson 1-8, Hinkle 1-2, Levin 2-9, Haluska 1-4, Zearley 1-1), Marion 4-20 (Aarhus 3-10, Eiben 0-2, Griffin 0-1, Morris 1-5, Gassema 0-2). Team fouls: Solon 16, Marion 25. Fouled out: Aarhus, Eiben, Boggess, Wieseler. Rebounds: Solon 35 (Levin 13), Marion 47 (Griffin 12). Assists: Solon 11 (D. Durr, Hinkle, Haluska 3), Marion 9 (Boggess 3). Steals: Solon 9 (D. Durr 5), Marion 3 (Wieseler 2). Turnovers: Solon 9, Marion 21.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com