Coverage of the TSSAA State Tournament is Presented by Legacy Athletics
MURFREESBORO- The York Dragonettes advanced to the semifinal round of the TSSAA Class AA Girls’ Basketball State Tournament with a 53-50 win over Gibson County on Tuesday at the Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University.
The Dragonettes erased a nine-point deficit in the second half as they knocked off the 30-5 Lady Pioneers.
“It sums up our whole team, battling adversity all year,” said York head coach Michael Green. “We could’ve put our head down and quit, but these girls have battled all year. They’ve seen when they fight and they overcome stuff and don’t give up, good things happen.”
Freshman point guard Reese Beaty opened the game with a no-look pass to her sister Gabby Beaty for an open layup. Reese ended the first quarter with five rebounds and four assists, as the two teams battled to an 18-18 score after one.
The Dragonettes have struggled offensively at times in the last two weeks, so Green said the fast offensive start in Tuesday’s game was important.
“It was very important,” said Green. “It probably builds a little confidence and hopefully we can take that into Thursday.”
The Lady Pioneers opened a lead in the second quarter with a layup by Miss Basketball finalist Madison Hart, but York’s Ellie Leffew made two threes to tie the game at 26.
Micah Hart made a jumper with seven seconds remaining in the frame as the Lady Pioneers took a 31-29 lead into halftime.
GCHS rattled off a 9-0 run in the middle of the third quarter to take 43-34 lead. Reese Beaty then made a three in the final minute as the Lady Pioneers led 43-37 at the end of the third quarter.
The Dragonettes went on an 8-0 run to open the fourth quarter, as they held GCHS scoreless through the opening six minutes of the frame to take the lead.
Reese and Gabby Beaty made six straight free throws for the Dragonettes before a layup for GCHS cut the York lead to 51-47.
Reese Beaty then made two more free throws with 21 seconds remaining in the frame to secure the win.
Reese Beaty led the way with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Gabby Beaty tallied a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Laci Patton scored nine points. Ellie Leffew added eight. Sage Smith tallied seven.
Reese Beaty said while she has played in big games on the AAU and travel circuit, there were still some nerves playing in the state tournament, but the Dragonettes used the nerves to their advantage.
“There’s always nerves,” said Beaty. “Not everybody gets to do that. There’s good nerves and there’s bad nerves. Tonight, we had good nerves.”
The Dragonettes will face off against Gatlinburg-Pittman in the semifinal round of the tournament. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Murphy Center.
Photos by Kailee Means:
