Eight is enough for Polk girls basketball to deliver winning season

Polk County girls basketball coach Craig Culbreth wasn’t quite sure what to expect when the Wolverines began the 2013-14 season.

Eight players on the roster, many of them sophomores or freshmen, left Culbreth concerned just how the team would handle the always-tough Western Highlands Conference.

In the end, they handled all things fairly well.

The Wolverines concluded the season with a 13-10 record, finishing fourth in the WHC and earning a wild-card berth in the state 2A playoffs. Save for a four-game stretch in late December/early January, the Wolverines were competitive in every loss, including the 63-46 playoff setback at East Burke.

“To have only two seniors and just eight players, it probably went better than I expected,” Culbreth said. “The girls really came together. They played together really well, and only losing two players I think things look good for next year.”

Polk County opened the season with five wins in its first six games, those five victories by an average margin of 31 points. Then the Wolverines entered conference play and stumbled, losing to conference powers Madison, Mountain Heritage and Avery County, as well as non-conference foe North Buncombe, in succession.

Polk County rebounded with three wins, then suffered another four-game losing streak before reeling off five straight wins. Two of those four losses, though, were narrow setbacks to Mountain Heritage and Madison.

“Everybody we played, the second time, we definitely played much better,” Culbreth said. “Being a young team like we were, there are going to be ups and downs. But you could tell every day our confidence was growing.

“The last game of the season (at East Burke), we were down 18 at halftime. In the third quarter we got back to within 12 and their coach had to call a timeout. The girls didn’t quit.”

Polk County’s fortunes often rested on its defense. The team averaged almost 16 steals per game and often gave opponents fits with its pressure. Sophomore Hayley Kropp finished as the team’s leading scorer at 15.7 points per game, but also led the defense with 4.7 steals per game.

“She was a scorer last year, but she was a leader on defense this year, averaging almost five steals per game,” Culbeth said of Kropp. “Her assists came up this year, too (team-high 2.9 apg). She’s still only a sophomore, so she should keep improving. She’s so competitive. She wants to win.”

Emerging as the team’s top frontcourt threat, junior Sarah Phipps finished second in scoring with 7.6 points per game and a team-high 10.6 rebounds per game, one of the top totals in the area.

“Sarah was probably one of the top rebounders in Western North Carolina,” Culbreth said. “She had a good year.”

Seniors Lyric Flood and Janada Carson will leave a void at both ends of the floor, the two combining for 11.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. But sophomores Savannah Ross and Ashley Love will return along with junior Ashley Kropp and freshman India Godlock, who finished fifth on the team in scoring.

“One thing about the year is that everybody played a lot,” Culbreth said. “That’s one thing about only having eight players, those six players coming back got plenty of experience this year.

“The biggest pleasure for me was the way the girls didn’t quit. They worked hard all year.”