#2 Dragonettes Take Down #1 Cookeville, 59-48

By Michael Lindsay

 

Monday’s showdown between two of Tennessee’s best girls basketball teams saw the UC #2 York Institute Dragonettes defeat the #1-ranked Cookeville Lady Cavaliers, 59-48.

“I thought we had a pretty good showing tonight; Cookeville’s a great team and we knew that,” said York head coach Michael Green. “That’s why we’re playing them in the last week of the season. We wanted this win badly because we knew what caliber of team they are.”

The York victory splits the season series as the Lady Cavs (22-4, 6-0) defeated the Dragonettes (23-2, 5-0) in Cookeville on Dec. 13, 45-34.

Monday’s 11-point victory is the closest game York has played in almost a month.

“This was a region tournament-type game and atmosphere,” Green said. “You can’t mimic these late-game situations in practice. That’s why I wanted this Cookeville game now and the Oakland game as the last one of the season. Win or lose, this was a great learning experience for us.”

Dragonette sophomore point guard Reese Beaty put on an impressive showing as she dropped 24 points in the win. Freshman Raylee Werner had 12 points for YAI.

Cookeville had three players in double figures as Allie Gillies and Cassie Gallagher each scored 13, followed by Jordan Gillies with 12.

York Institute jumped out to a 10-3 lead early in the first period before Cookeville answered with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 10 at the end of the first period.

The Lady Cavaliers broke through and took a 14-12 advantage via a Gallagher layup with 6:38 left until halftime.

York quickly retook the lead and held it through the rest of the second period. Reese Beaty drained an and-one jumper with 1.6 seconds left in the second period, putting the Dragonettes up 28-23 at halftime.

After halftime, the Dragonettes quickly pushed their lead out to double digits (33-23) with 6:10 left in the third period via an Emy Crabtree three-pointer and Raylee Werner layup.

Cookeville wouldn’t go away quietly as Allie Gillies and Cassie Gallagher knocked down back-to-back shots late in the third period to cut York’s lead to 3 points (36-33).

The teams traded baskets to end the third quarter as York Institute held a 40-35 lead entering the fourth period.

Cookeville’s second-half run wasn’t over yet as freshman Allie Gillies connected on a three-pointer and two free throws early in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 40 with 5:57 remaining.

“There were a couple of possessions in the second half where we got careless with the basketball,” Green said. “In championship games, one or two bad turnovers is going to get you beat. Make that extra effort to make a good pass.”

York Institute answered the adversity as Crabtree drained a corner three-pointer on the ensuing possession to put her team up 43-40.

Reese Beaty pushed the Dragonette lead to 45-40 via two free throws with 3:40 remaining before Cookeville’s Charlie Roby answered with a three-pointer to trim the deficit back to 2 (45-43) with 3:35 left.

After trading baskets, York pushed their lead out to two possessions for good with 1:20 remaining via a pair of Werner free throws to make the score 49-45.

The Dragonettes went a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line in the final minute of the game to close out their victory over Cookeville, 59-48.

The Dragonettes have a quick turnaround as they host District 5AA foe Monterey tonight in Jamestown. Cookeville will take a few days off before traveling to Wilson Central on Friday.

 

York Institute (59): Reese Beaty 24, Raylee Werner 12, Emy Crabtree 8, Emma Cooper 7, Ellie Leffew 6, Gabby Beaty 2

Cookeville (48): Cassie Gallagher 13, Allie Gillies 13, Jordan Gillies 12, Charlie Roby 6, Isabel Garcia 2, Cara Lee Gilbert 2

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