Avery takes advantage of Polk foul issues to eliminate Wolverines

Avery took advantage of Polk County’s late foul trouble to hold on for a 68-57 win over the Wolverines in the opening round of the Western Highlands Conference girls basketball tournament in Newland.

Polk County (9-14) trailed by four points with three minutes left, but struggled in the final minutes with foul issues – four Wolverines fouled out of the game.

Hayley Kropp had 29 points, including five 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead Polk County. Autumn Owen added 12 points, with Ansley Lynch matching her career high with eight, Bella Marino scoring six and Alana Seay scoring two.

Freshman Heaven Nelson scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Avery.

Polk County will now wait for Saturday’s 2A playoff brackets to be revealed to see if its overall record will be good enough for a wild card.