Basketball Game Preview: R-S Central Hilltoppers vs. Polk County Wolverines

The R-S Central Hilltoppers will challenge the Polk County Wolverines at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing isn't great for R-S Central: they have been struggling with four straight losses at home, while Polk County has snatched up five consecutive wins on the road.

On Friday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, R-S Central beat Brevard 37-31.

Meanwhile, Polk County narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past West Henderson 58-55. Given the Wolverines' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while the Falcons are ranked 207th), the result on Monday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Polk County's win came from a few key players R-S Central will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kiera Littlejohn, who almost dropped a double-double on 16 points and nine rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Kylie Lewis, who went 5 of 12 on her way to 15 points in addition to seven rebounds and three steals.

R-S Central's win ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-9. As for Polk County, their victory bumped their record up to 10-1.

R-S Central was able to grind out a solid win over Polk County when the teams last played back in February of 2024, winning 63-56. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Polk County's Bailey Staton, who went 6 for 10 from beyond the arc on her way to 24 points. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will R-S Central still be able to contain Staton? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.