The scoreboard may not have reflected it, but Polk County girls basketball coach Brandy Alm saw the signs of improvement Tuesday she wanted to see from her young Wolverines.
Cherokee relied on its trademark pressure on both ends of the court to hand Polk County a 72-49 setback in a non-conference game at Polk. The Braves used a 22-7 run over the end of the second period and the start of the third to build a 19-point lead en route to improving to 1-1 on the season. Polk County also is now 1-1 heading into Thursday’s game at Brevard.
Despite graduating three starters and five seniors from last season’s 25-4 squad, Cherokee has been ranked in the top 10 in preseason state 1A polls, and the Braves flashed that potential Tuesday, forcing Polk into numerous turnovers with a full-court, man-to-man approach. Tori Teesateskie hit five 3-pointers to bolster Cherokee’s half-court offense.
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But after falling behind 26-11 at the end of the first period, Polk County rallied in the second, Hayley Kropp and Autumn Owen leading a comeback that pulled the Wolverines within four, 29-25, with 4:12 left in the half. Teesateskie ended that run with a 3-pointer that sparked Cherokee’s surge, the Braves taking a 42-30 lead at the break, then opening a 51-32 bulge with 5:16 left in the third period.
“There were a lot of good things we did,” Alm said. “We have improved, hands down, since the first scrimmage. There are little things that we’ve been doing wrong that I see us improving.
“I know we gave up 72 points, but I think our defense is getting there. We’ve improving on that, too.”
Kropp had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Wolverines, who also got 15 points from Owen. Kendall Hall scored five points, Alana Seay had four and Mariah Overholt and Ansley Lynch each added two.
