Solon won its first three state championships in rapid succession.
The Spartans had a wait a while to get No. 4.
Solon built a 10-point lead, saw it slip away, then finished strong in beating Estherville-Lincoln Central 54-47 to win the Class 3A championship. University of Iowa recruit Callie Levin led the way with 27 points and Anna Quillin dominated on the glass with 16 rebounds as the Spartans put the finishing touches on a 24-3 season.
Estherville-Lincoln Central got 30 points from all-tournament captain Haylee Stokes, who set a 3A record with 89 points in her three games.
Solon was one of the state’s best programs in the 1990s, winning Class 3A titles in 1994, 1997 and 1998 and finishing second in 1993. But that 1998 title had been the last time the Spartans reached the championship game until this year.
They did not let the opportunity slip away, though it looked a little shaky for a few minutes.
Solon went up 36-26 on Mia Stahle’s layup midway through the third quarter and appeared to have all the momentum. But ELC finished the quarter with a 9-1 run that included seven points from Stokes, then pulled ahead at 38-37 when Stokes hit a 3-pointer from the left wing at the start of the fourth quarter.
An exchange of baskets left ELC with a 40-39 lead, which Levin erased when she converted a three-point play off a drive 10 seconds later. Solon’s Kobi Lietz beat everyone down the floor for a fastbreak layup and Hailey Miller drove for a bucket with a slick crossover dribble, giving the Spartans a 46-40 lead.
When Levin splashed a 3 with 2:02 remaining, Solon led 51-42 and that was all the cushion the Spartans needed to hold on for the title.
ELC did draw to 52-47 on Stokes’ trey with 31 seconds left and got a chance after Lietz missed two free throws. But three rushed 3-point shots were off the mark, Solon grabbed the rebound and Levin sank two free throws to wrap it up.
ELC, the state champion two years ago, stayed in the game despite shooting 29 percent and finished 24-3.
Levin, Quillin and ELC’s Rylee Yager also made the all-tournament team along with Mount Vernon’s Chloe Meester and Des Moines Christian’s Abby Hall.
Stokes, who scored 44 points in a quarterfinal victory over Forest City, broke the 3A tournament record of 86 points that Elle Ruffridge of Pocahontas set in 2015.
Quillin, who did not score in the championship game, also grabbed 16 rebounds in the quarterfinal round to tie the 3A single-game record and finished with a record 40 rebounds for the tournament. The old 3A mark was 36 by Unity Christian’s Janie Schoonhoven in 2021.