It took Polk County’s girls basketball squad just 90 seconds of the third period Friday night to score as many points as they did the entire first half.
It took slightly more than two more minutes to do it again. And two more minutes to do it a third time.
You get the picture.
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Held to just seven first-half points, Polk County exploded for 47 in the second half, running away from Hendersonville for a 54-22 win in a Western Highlands Conference matchup at Polk County.
Polk County head coach Craig Culbreth might want to save his halftime speech for games to come, because something certainly turned things around in the second half for the Wolverines (8-5, 2-3), who won their third consecutive game.
When Ashley Love hit a short jumper at the 4:01 mark of the first quarter, little did anyone realize it would be Polk’s last basket of the half, a span of 12 minutes in which the Wolverines managed just three free throws. Polk didn’t relax defensively, though, and held Hendersonville’s offense largely in check en route to a 15-7 halftime deficit.
But as if the first half never occurred, Polk County came out firing on all cylinders in the second half. Sarah Phipps scored on a short jumper and Hayley Kropp hit a 3-pointer to quickly cut the Bearcats’ lead to 15-12. After a Hendersonville basket, the Wolverines scored the next 16 points, a run highlighted by 3-pointers from Kropp and Lyric Flood, to take a 28-17 lead with 1:59 left in the third. Hendersonville stopped the run with two free throws, but Love scored on a baseline jumper and Kropp, who had 14 points in the quarter, hit two free throws to cap a 26-point third period, good for a 33-19 lead.
“We had a coach-to-players heart-to-heart talk at halftime,” Culbreth said. “They were out of school today, and I think that had a lot to do with it early. In the second half we picked it up and started taking better shots.
“That’s the type of team we have. When we play together, we’re pretty good. In the first half we were just really flat.”
The offensive fireworks continued in the fourth period as Polk County outscored Hendersonville 21-3. It all added up to a 47-7 second-half outburst for the Wolverines.
Kropp had 23 points to lead Polk County, which also got 11 from Love. Phipps finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.
“We’re learning to start trusting each other. When everyone is doing their job we can be pretty good,” Culbreth said. “Our last practice was all shooting. Some of the girls have been coming into school and shooting. We’ve been doing a lot of shooting.”
Polk County Scoring
Hayley Kropp 23, Ashley Love 11, Sarah Phipps 8, Lyric Flood 5, Janada Carson 3, India Godlock 2, Savannah Ross 2
