Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The York Institute Dragonettes held on late to take down Community on Saturday 32-31 to advance to the Class AA State Tournament.
York got off to a good start in the first half, taking a 13-5 lead at one point in the first quarter. The Dragonettes pushed that lead to as much as 10 at 21-11 before taking an eight-point lead into the break.
Community came out swinging in the second half, scoring the eight of the first nine points of the half to cut the deficit down to just 22-21.
Both teams battled back-and-f0rth for the remainder of the contest, as York scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to take a 30-28 lead halfway through the frame. The two teams struggled to score, but the Dragonettes pushed the lead to 32-28 with just under 20 seconds left in the game.
Community knocked down a three with 3.2 seconds remaining, but couldn’t get off a shot after that, as the Dragonettes clinched their spot in the State Tournament with a 32-31 victory.
For head coach Michael Green, the good start on offense was something he preached that needed to happen in order for them to win.
“We came out strong and got a lead there at the tip,” Green said. “Especially with a home crowd, we had to come out with a lead off the bat, because it’s hard to play from behind on the road…it wasn’t pretty, but it was all about getting out of here with a win and getting to the state tournament.”
The early run by Community in the third made the game much higher than Green would’ve liked, but he got his team through it by remaining composed as he has all season and reminding them to keep battling.
“I just told them to keep fighting,” Green said. “We kept getting it back when we needed to…I don’t know what they were from the foul line, but they helped us out a few times there. I decided to go four quarters and slow it down a little bit, and it ended up working out for us.”
As for the State Tournament, it still doesn’t seem real for Green, but he says it’ll set in soon.
“I’m still upset about the game, but it doesn’t seem real,” Green said. “Me and Coach (Mike) Johnson will be watching film throughout the night when we get back, and we’ll try to put together a plan for Gibson County.”
