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By Jed Blackwell

Bailey Staton didn’t make a ton of shots against Hendersonville on Tuesday. 

Polk County’s point guard certainly made some of the biggest. 

Staton scored nine of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers 50 seconds apart that helped put the game away as the Wolverines increased their Mountain Foothills 7 lead over the Bearcats to two games with a 53-49 victory.

“We played hard,” Polk County coach Brandy Alm said. “We weren’t as patient as we would have liked, and I hope that’s something we take from this game – being patient and working the ball around. But Bailey stepped up and made a couple of big shots. Defensively, we made some adjustments and we played some good, strong defense.”

The Wolverines’ often-dominant inside game seemed to be a focus for the Bearcats, as they collapsed onto the block with three defenders every time Kiera Littlejohn or fellow post Kylie Lewis touched the ball offensively. 

“That’s one thing we’re expecting as postseason approaches, especially as dominant as Kiera and Kylie have been,” Alm said. “They’re going to get double-teamed, and now triple-teamed with a guard. They know if they don’t have a quick drop step or up-and-under, they have to kick it back out.”

Still, Polk County (16-1, 8-0) scored all but one of its baskets in the paint in the third quarter. Lewis scored two buckets in the post, and Littlejohn had another. Mia Bradley converted a putback, and Jayden Duncan hit a baseline runner. The only exception was Staton’s 3-ball. 

The Wolverines needed all of it, as Hendersonville (14-5, 6-2) kept finding answers and trailed just 40-38 headed down the stretch. 

The Bearcats worked for most of three quarters to reclaim the lead, pulling even and then ahead early in the fourth. 

The Wolverines let their guests hold their hard-fought advantage for a matter of seconds. 

Littlejohn barreled down the lane, corralled a rebound and tipped it back in one motion with 5:43 to play, and Polk County promptly answered a free throw that had given the Bearcats their first lead since the 2:30 mark of the first quarter. 

Polk County never trailed again. 

Staton followed Littlejohn’s bucket with a free throw, then the back-to-back triples. Bradley and Staton went 4-of-4 from the line down the stretch to help put it away. 

The first half was an old-fashioned basketball rock fight. The lead changed hands three times and neither team led by more than six. That advantage went to Polk County on Littlejohn’s pretty foul-line jumper with 6:08 to play in the half that made it 24-18. Hendersonville answered almost immediately with a bucket from Eleanor Pavao to cut it to 24-20. 

Then, the clamps were locked down. The teams went more than three minutes without scoring as both defenses came up with big stops, both offenses saw good looks spin out, and both sides were allowed to play with a bit of a physical edge. Lewis broke the drought, getting a tough inside bucket with some contact for two of her nine first-half points and a 26-20 lead. 

The rest of the half belonged to the Bearcats, though. Addison Reed, Vickie Flowers, and Averie Russell keyed a 6-1 run, with Reeve Carroll’s free throw the only Wolverines’ point as Hendersonville cut the halftime lead to 27-26. 

“It’s actually in our favor when it’s a physical game like that,” Alm said. “When they start calling touch fouls, we tend to play a little passive, and that’s not our style. We like to play aggressive defensively.”

For the game, Lewis closed in on the 1,000-point mark for her career with 13 on the night, leaving her at 994. She added 12 rebounds, leaving her 26 short of the school record. Littlejohn added eight points, with Bradley scoring four and handing out six assists.

Carroll and Charley Dusenbury each scored three points and Duncan added two.