Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The York Institute Lady Dragonettes battled back from multiple deficits and took down the Clay County Lady Bulldogs in overtime 56-53 on Thursday.
The two teams battled to a stalemate in the first half, as the score was tied at 23-all heading into the break. Clay County came out of the break on a hot streak, as a layup from Abby Head gave them a 33-25 lead over the Dragonettes.
York battled back on the strength of two third-quarter threes from Reese Beaty to cut that lead down to 39-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
Beaty added her third three-pointer of the game to give the Dragonettes a 43-42 lead with 3:35 to play in regulation, at which point the two teams traded leads six times up through the end of the quarter.
After a block from Eliza Jenkins, Head had a breakaway opportunity to potentially win the game, but she just narrowly released the ball after the buzzer sounded.
In overtime, a Laci Patton three and two Beaty free throws proved to be the difference in a 56-53 win for the Dragonettes.
Patton paced York with 21 points, while Beaty was close behind with 19.
“We put ourselves in some bad spots, and they took advantage of it,” said York coach Michael Johnson. “We relied on the three way too much, and it was hard to get it into the post, but that’s what we needed to do.”
Two players stuck out to Johnson, and the first one in Beaty probably isn’t a shock to anyone around the program. She’s come in as a freshman with a wealth of accolades and plenty of colleges already looking at her for the next level.
The thing that sticks out to Johnson is you would never know about any of those accomplishments if you spoke to her.
“For a kid that has had the accolades she’s had and never played a high school game until a month ago, she’s one of the most humble kids you’ll ever meet,” Johnson said. “It’d be natural for that freshman to come in and rub people the wrong way, but her teammates love her and she loves them.”
The other was one that the scorebook might not tell you the full story about: Josie Linder. When Ellie Leffew and Gabby Beaty got into foul trouble, it was Linder who came in and played tough defense and gave Johnson good minutes off the bench.
“She came in and played a lot of minutes that she hasn’t had to play up to this point in the year,” Johnson said. “She played some outstanding defense when we made a run late…that kid was a big key to us winning that game.”
The Dragons finished off the sweep of Clay County with a 96-70 win of their own over the Bulldogs.
It all started in the first quarter, as Nic Smith and Jon Heddings combined for four three-pointers that led the Dragons to a 25-17 lead over Clay County. The Dragons had their lowest scoring quarter of the night in the second, though they still managed to put up 17 points and take a 42-28 lead into the break.
The third quarter is where the game began opening up for York, as they outscored the Bulldogs 28-10 on the strength of 11 points in the frame by Smith to take a 70-40 lead into the final quarter. There, they cruised to the victory and took down Clay County 96-70.
Smith finished with a game-high 31 points, while Heddings closed the game with 19 points. Jackson Conatser scored 20 points of his own for the Dragons.
Grant Strong led the way for Clay County with 30 points, as York head coach Rodney Pile spoke on just how much of a focus was on Strong in the gameplan.
“I thought our intensity was better tonight,” Pile said. “Grant Strong’s a great player and we knew we had to focus on him…it all starts with him, and a couple times tonight, we were able to get the ball out of his hands. Just a great effort on that end of the floor.”
Smith and Heddings’ production is nothing new for fans in Jamestown, as those two have been integral pieces of the Dragons since they first stepped on the floor. For Pile, it’s the leadership those two provide that have helped the team get off to a great start this season.
“Jon and Nic have been tremendous,” Pile said. “Since I took over in the Spring, my biggest message to them is that on every great team, you’re going to have good, strong senior leadership…they’re always trying to do what I ask them to do, and they’ve been wonderful.”
York will have a quick turnaround to Friday when they host Cumberland County, while Clay County will host their Christmas Classic beginning on Monday.
