The Polk County varsity girls got their first conference victory Jan. 11 over the Gryphons of Thomas Jefferson by a score of 48-34.

After a couple of disappointing last minute losses earlier this year, the Lady Wolverines were happy to hear the final buzzer sound with them ahead on the scoreboard. The Lady Wolverines never trailed in the game, taking an 11 -7 first quarter lead and a comfortable 25 – 17 lead into halftime. Holding Thomas Jefferson to only 6 points in the third quarter, the Wolverines increased their lead to 37-23. That 14-point margin held for the victory as both teams scored 11 in the final period.

Coach Craig Culbreth was obviously pleased with the win and impressed with the job the undersized Lady Wolverines did rebounding.

“Thomas Jefferson was a big physical team on the inside. They had three girls that were 6-feet tall. We had to work really hard to get rebounds. Katie Ruff at 5’7 had nine rebounds and Savannah Deaver at 5’10 had 10; they did a good job on boards for us.”

Thomas Jefferson got most of their scoring from two players who grabbed 13 and 12 points of the Gryphon’s 34 total points. Polk had no one in double figures, but kept things balanced on scoring. Haley Kropp led with 8 points, while eight other players had four points or more on the night. Kara Overholt had another strong night registering five steals in the game.

Stats: Polk County 48, Thomas Jefferson, 34.

Polk: 11; 14; 12; 11; – 48

TJ: 7; 10; 6; 11; – 34

Polk: Overholt 6, Love 4, Lynch 7, Brown 7, Kropp 8, Ruff 6, Deaver 6, Flood 4

TJ: Bennett 13, Edwards 2, Tevif 5, Holifield 2, Dedman 12

Polk Girls are now 7-8, 1-4 WHC. Next game: Tonight at home vs. Owen.