Polk County’s varsity basketball programs take the next step in their season journey on Friday, traveling to Madison for the start of their Western Highlands Conference schedule.
The road trip to face the Patriots is the first of three pre-Christmas conference games for the Wolverines, with games next week at Mitchell and at home against Mountain Heritage. How well Polk County’s boys and girls teams fare in those three games could mean much when the teams return in January for the heart of their league schedule.
“Getting off to a fast start in conference is huge,” said Polk County boys coach Josh McEntire. “We have lost our first game in conference the last few years and had to fight out of a hole the entire conference season.
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“Our goal is to go 1-0 this Friday and be in first place. As long as we keep going 1-0 every game during conference, we will stay in first.”
Polk County, 2-3 after Tuesday’s 62-35 loss at East Henderson, gets perhaps the favorable portion of the WHC rotation to open league play, with both Madison and Mitchell winless to date. McEntire is hoping the Wolverines can build momentum heading into the holidays and thinks the potential exists for Polk to do just that.
“When we play with energy and intensity on defense and attack the basket and share the ball on offense, we are a really good team,” McEntire said. “We just have to play that way more consistently.”
Polk County girls coach Brandy Alm also brings optimism into the conference opener, but for a different reason. A young squad largely comprised of underclassmen has begun to offer support to senior standout Hayley Kropp, who has averaged 23.4 points per game in the Wolverines’ 2-3 start.
“We are definitely improving every practice,” Alm said. “The heart displayed by our team is so rare. We never give up and constantly motivate one another.
“We are gaining confidence every time we step on the court. The first game, we had two people score all but one point. The last game (Tuesday’s 51-50 loss at East Henderson), seven people put points on the board.”
One of the WHC’s top programs in recent seasons, Madison (3-3) will offer a challenge for Polk, especially in Marshall. But Alm is more focused on how her squad plays than the Patriots.
“It’s very important to play well and compete,” Alm said. “We need to generate momentum going into our Christmas tournament.
“We definitely have to continue to gain confidence and stay intense each time we step on the court.”
