Polk County held Madison scoreless for almost nine minutes in the first half Friday night – and still trailed by a point at the end of that stretch.
It was that type of defensive war for both teams.
And it was a girls basketball battle in which the Wolverines fought valiantly, but wound up falling 47-36 to the Patriots in the Western Highlands Conference opener for both teams at Polk County.
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The unbeaten Patriots (6-0, 1-0) held Polk County to 18 points through the first three quarters, relying on its aggressive defense to shut down Polk County’s inside game. The Wolverines (4-2, 0-1) were largely shut out inside, with starters Sarah Phipps and Autumn Owen held without a field goal in the game. And with leading scorer Hayley Kropp playing but under the weather, Polk’s outside shooting wasn’t as effective as typical, either.
Yet Polk County remained within reach of the lead for much of the night thanks to its defensive pressure. Focusing on stopping Madison’s inside duo of Baylea Loven and Lexi Ammons, Polk County fought through screens, provided weakside help and made defensive switches effectively throughout much of the game. Ammons still finished with 20 points, but Loven, the team’s leading scorer, had just four.
“The heart these girls showed tonight, they proved they could play with Madison,” said Polk County head coach Brandy Alm. “There are a few things here and there that we still need to work on, but did a lot of little things well for game six.
“They gave so much effort on defense. That’s what our philosophy is, and that’s what is going to win games for us.”
Madison opened an 8-2 lead at the 5:10 mark of the first period, but the Patriots didn’t score again until 4:19 remained in the second quarter, taking a 10-9 lead after Polk County had inched ahead at the end of the first. The Wolverines had their own scoreless drought, not scoring until Ashley Kropp’s layup with 2:25 left.
Shana Shelton responded with a 3-pointer, helping give Madison a 19-13 lead at the half.
The Patriots continued to clamp down on Polk’s offense in the third period, outscoring the Wolverines 10-2 in the first six minutes to build a 29-15 advantage. The Wolverines trailed by 16 late in the fourth quarter before Kropp and Kara Overholt hit 3-pointers to help trim the deficit.
Kropp and Overholt each scored 11 points to lead Polk. Phipps had six rebounds and three assists for the Wolverines, who travel to T.C. Roberson on Tuesday for a non-conference game. That will be a homecoming game for Alm, who played at T.C. Roberson and is in the school’s ring of honor.
Polk County Scoring
Hayley Kropp 11, Kara Overholt 11, Katelyn Miller 3, Sarah Phipps 3, Savannah Ross 3, Ashley Kropp 2, India Godlock 2
