Ultimately, the three days of tournament play that Polk County wrapped up Wednesday may yield their biggest benefit somewhere later this season, perhaps even come playoff time.
But the championship trophy that the Wolverines claimed at afternoon’s end served as quite a nice reward in the meantime.
Polk County knocked off previously undefeated Rosman 49-40 in UNC Asheville’s Justice Gym to win the Wells Fargo WNC Holiday Classic Blue Ridge Division tourney title.
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After leading much of the first half, the Wolverines (6-5) briefly surrendered a six-point halftime lead in the third period, but fought back to retake the upper hand and hold off the Tigers (6-1) down the stretch.
As always for Polk County, defense anchored the victory.
“Defense was definitely key in our win,” said Polk County head coach Brandy Alm. “We shut down their leading scorer (Callie Chappell) and made adjustments on the offensive end when we needed to.”
Most of those adjustment ran through senior guard Hayley Kropp, who scored a game-high 30 points to wrap up a spectacular three days of play. Kropp averaged 27 points and 11 rebounds in the tournament, finishing Wednesday’s final with 10 rebounds, six steals and four assists.
Kropp joined teammates Autumn Owen and Ansley Lynch on the all-tournament team. Owen had 14 points and six rebounds while Lynch had three points and five rebounds. Bella Marino added two points.
Rosman’s Chappell entered the final averaging 20 points per game this season and needed just nine points in the game to reach 1,000 for her career. She didn’t get that ninth point until the final three minutes of the fourth quarter. Chappell and teammate Rachel Owen rounded out the all-tournament team.
“We were relentless on both ends of the court,” Alm said.
Polk County will look to continue its winning streak on Tuesday when the Wolverines host Avery in a Western Highlands Conference battle.
