Wolverines’ pressure grounds Eagles in 39-22 triumph

Bring the pressure, bring the points.

It’s an approach that worked well Monday for Polk County Middle, the Wolverines harassing Flat Rock into a 39-22 setback in Blue Ridge Conference girls basketball play at Polk.

Flat Rock (0-2) struggled to find an answer for Polk Middle’s full-court pressure. The Wolverines (3-0) scored twice in the first 25 seconds, built a 9-2 lead by the midpoint of the opening period and took an 11-3 lead at the end of the quarter, most of those points coming off Flat Rock turnovers.

A Bailey Staton steal and three-point play pushed Polk Middle’s advantage to 17-5 with 4:34 left in the second period. Flat Rock got the deficit back to 10 at 19-9, but Jayden Duncan hit a pair of baskets and Leah Dotson scored off a nice pass from Charley Dusenbury to give the Wolverines a 25-11 advantage at halftime.

“I thought we stepped it up defensively tonight,” said Polk Middle head coach Michelle Fagan. “We just need to do a better job of finishing at the basket.

“It’s good to get a win. We’re still not where we want to be, but we had a good team effort.”

Mia Bradley led Polk Middle with 13 points, with Staton finishing with seven. Duncan, Cate Brown and Gavionna Carson each scored four points, with Dotson and Dusenbury each adding two.

Polk Middle is set to travel Thursday to Brevard Middle.