Savannah Triplett: Heart and Hustle by Phoenix Stevens
In 2022, the Meade County Lady Wave made a run to the Sweet 16 and even got a first round win over Boyd County. This marked Meade County’s first appearance in the dance since 2014, but Savannah Triplett was just a freshman on that team. Despite that, she still holds very fond memories of getting to compete in the Sweet 16.
“Meade County is small but extremely united. Having our small town come out to our games is the best feeling ever, especially seeing our sea of green at Rupp Arena two years ago,” Triplett said.
For Triplett, Meade County is more than home. It’s who she is — it runs in her blood. “My mom grew up playing basketball in Meade county, and she got to play for my uncle — Coach Bobby Pollock,” the junior forward explained. When talking with Triplett, it quickly became apparent that Pollock is a meaningful figure to her.
“Coach Pollock is still very involved with us current Lady Waves, and he doesn’t miss an opportunity to be at our Games and practices. It’s special to me that I get to play for Coach Pollock to this day.”
Triplett has been very good in filling out her role on this Meade County team, but what exactly does she bring to the table? Well, a lot. However, she gives credit to her teammates for allowing her to be the player that she is.
“Coming from a team that has many offensive threats and dominant shooters, I believe my defense, deflections, steals, and rebounds bring a lot to my game.”
This leads us to the Heart and Hustle Award. Triplett is always striving to be the best she can be, which exemplifies “heart and hustle” in her mind.
“Heart and hustle is most important to the game. Heart is all about motivating my teammates and myself to be the best we can be. Hustle, I thrive on the defensive end of the court. I want every deflection and rebound possible because that helps my team in transition.”
One of Triplett’s teammates is junior standout Peyton Bradley. Bradley was averaging 23.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game this season before suffering an ACL tear in January. This was a big loss for the Lady Wave, to say the least. However, perhaps the worst part is that this wasn’t the first season-ending injury Meade County had seen this year.
Just a few weeks prior in December, Triplett tore her ACL as well. Since then, she has been eager to get back to the hardwood, which has been a very challenging part of the recovery process.
“The recovery has been going great,” Triplett explained. “I’ve already seen so much improvement since surgery. The biggest challenge for me has definitely been taking my time and not trying to rush because as much as I want to be on court, I know for me to come back stronger, I have to go slow and steady. It’s been a mental challenge to not push myself too hard.”
Triplett has officially received her return to play date: October 4th cannot come soon enough.