Polk County’s girls basketball squad snapped a four-game losing streak Thursday night with a dramatic 53-51 win at Mitchell.
Trailing by one, Polk County evened the score with seven seconds remaining on a Sarah Phipps free throw. The Wolverines then forced a turnover with their full court press, and Hayley Kropp hit a game-winning jumper from the lane with three seconds remaining.
“It was a really good win after playing on Wednesday, then traveling to Mitchell,” said head coach Craig Culbreth. “You could tell we were a little tired at first.”
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Polk trailed by seven points in the first quarter, but rallied to within one at halftime. The Wolverines then took a one-point lead entering the final period.
Kropp led Polk County with 18 points, with India Godlock and Ashley Kropp each adding 10 points.
The Western Highlands Conference win improves the Wolverines to 6-5 overall, 1-3 in conference play. Mitchell dropped to 1-12, 0-2.
Polk County returns to action on Wednesday, traveling to North Henderson for a non-conference game.
Polk County Scoring
Hayley Kropp 18, Ashley Kropp 10, India Godlock 10, Janada Carson 6, Lyric Flood 5, Sarah Phipps 3, Savannah Ross 1
Boys Basketball
Mitchell pulled away from Polk County in the third quarter and went on to record a 62-54 win in Western Highlands Conference boys basketball action Thursday night in Bakersville.
Polk County (4-7, 0-4) stood deadlocked with Mitchell (1-1, 4-9) at halftime. But the Mountaineers went on a 20-13 run in the third period, then held on for a key conference win.
Wolverine head coach Josh McEntire said the game unfolded much like Wednesday’s loss to Avery, with the team playing good defense but unable to find offensive consistency in the second half.
Anthony Carson scored 14 points and Jordan Smith added a season-high 13 points to lead Polk County.
Middle School Wrestling
Rugby Middle School notched a 78-21 win over Polk Middle in a Blue Ridge Middle School Conference Thursday at Rugby.
The two teams wrestled to a 46-46 tie in their first meeting earlier this season, but Polk Middle head coach Ben Johnson said the Raiders were a much improved squad from that encounter.
“They were a totally different team tonight,” Johnson said. “It was humbling. We’ve just got to get back at it and work harder.”
Ethan Edwards earned a decision at 185 for the Wolverines, with Braden Miller winning by pin at 154 and Devin Panchyshyn earning a pin at 222. Kameron Blackwell won by forfeit at heavyweight to round out the scoring for the Wolverines.
