Fourth-quarter defense helps Polk JV girls claim first win

Polk County’s girls junior varsity earned its first win of the season Tuesday, shutting Brevard down in the final minutes to claim a 31-27 victory at Polk.

The Wolverines improved to 1-3 with the win.

How it happened: Polk County led much of the first half, but Brevard rallied in the third quarter, taking a 23-19 lead before Polk’s Akyla Cunningham hit a 3-pointer in the final minute to make the score 23-22 entering the final period.

Brevard pushed the lead to 27-24 with five minutes remaining, but the Blue Devils would not score again. The Wolverines, meanwhile, tied the score at 27-27 on two Bianca Pitts free throws with 2:17 remaining.

The score was still tied entering the final minute, but the Polk defense forced a turnover, and Avia Cunningham worked free beneath the basket and scored to give the Wolverines a 29-27 lead.

With Brevard looking for the tying basket, Akyla Cunningham forced a Blue Devil turnover, raced the length of the court and scored to secure the win for Polk.

Scoring: Akyla Cunningham finished with 10 points, with Avia Cunningham adding seven and Pitts scoring six.

Exziah Staley added four points, with Jeri Allen and Gabby Savaia each scoring two.

Next up: Polk County travels Thursday to Chase for a 4 p.m. Mountain Foothills 7 Conference game.