Polk County matched Draughn shove for shove Thursday and pushed its way to a bit of history.
The Wolverines met Draughn’s aggressive defense in kind, keeping the Wildcat offense in check and finally finding enough points of their own to secure a 47-40 victory in the second round of the state 3A playoffs.
The win secured a second straight 20-win season for Polk – a first for the program – and moved the Wolverines (20-6) into the third round for the first time since 2007. Polk will travel Saturday to East Surry, the top seed in the 3A West field, for its Sweet 16 encounter.
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A repeat defensive effort would be welcome for the Wolverines, who trailed 9-2 late in the first quarter but only allowed Draughn (20-9) to score 13 points from that point until the end of the third quarter.
The stinginess allowed Polk to build an eight-point edge entering the fourth quarter, and the Wolverines built that to 11 early in the period. The Wildcats did close within six with 1:26 to go, but got no closer as Polk didn’t allow another point.
“We met their physicality with physicality,” said Polk County head coach Brandy Alm. “We made adjustments when we needed to. We switched up our defense once and then went back. We got really comfortable, just relaxed and played.
“We worked on a lot of defensive strategies the past couple of days because we had some down time. They made good adjustments and they executed.”
Draughn focused its defensive approach on stopping Polk senior Bailey Staton, keeping a defender plastered to her at all times. That even included breaks when Staton would walk to the Wolverine bench to talk to Alm – Draughn junior Lindsey Hensley accompanied each time.
With Staton struggling for space, Draughn steadily build its seven-point edge. But Staton finally shook free and drilled a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left to make it 9-6 at the end of the first.
Polk sophomore Amiyah Waters then began to assert her presence in the paint, hitting a pair of short jumpers and kicking a pass to Sofie Abrahamsen for another bucket as the Wolverines fashioned a 12-0 run, taking a 14-9 edge midway through the second. Draughn clawed back to 17-15 at the half, then evened the game at 17-17 early in the third period.
But Honesty Jackson’s layup with 6:07 left gave Polk a lead it would never lose. Staton began to warm up, scoring nine points in the third as the Wolverines built a 30-22 lead by quarter’s end.
Staton’s 3-pointer at the 6:32 mark made it 37-26, with Abrahamsen following with a layup for a 39-26 edge with 4:15 remaining. The Wolverines finished the game with six straight free throws to keep the Wildcats’ comeback hopes in check.
“They were shutting Bailey down and it’s frustrating for her, but she’s gotten used to it. She’s seen it all season long,” Alm said. “Amiyah stepped up, Reeve (Carroll) stepped up. Reeve handled the ball beautifully in the open court, even our big girls took the ball down the court.
“It was fun to watch, it was fun to coach. I’m excited to see what happens on Saturday.”
Staton finished with 23 points, with Waters adding 12. Abrahamsen had seven points and Jackson added five.
