Story and photos by Noah McKay
The 2nd-ranked York Institute Dragonettes and Dragons closed out the 2022-23 regular season with a doubleheader sweep of Oakland on Saturday night in Murfreesboro.
The Dragonettes (27-2, 8-0) opened the night with a 62-44 win over the Class 4A Lady Patriots (18-8, 6-2).
“We played fairly well,” said York head coach Michael Green. “We had some good moments offensively. Raylee Werner had a big game on offense. We didn’t do the job we wanted to taking care of the mismatches. They were a very athletic team. For the most part, I’m fairly pleased with our performance.”
The Dragonettes, who were playing in their sixth game in nine days, started the game with triples by Miss Basketball finalist Reese Beaty, Gabby Beaty and Emy Crabtree as they took a 16-14 lead into the second quarter.
The Beaty sisters then scored six points apiece in the second quarter as the Dragonettes led 28-23 at halftime.
The Dragonettes opened the third quarter on a run as they stretched a double-digit lead, but Oakland’s Alenna Poole and Myah Sutton jumpstarted a OHS run that cut the deficit to 45-39 entering the final frame.
York slowed the pace of their offense down in the fourth quarter, forcing the Lady Patriots to foul. Freshman guard Raylee Werner went 6-6 from the free throw line in the final quarter and the York defense allowed just five points in the frame to secure the 18-point victory.
The Dragonettes were led by Gabby Beaty’s 18 points. Reese Beaty added 15. Werner tallied 13, Ellie Leffew scored nine, Crabtree scored six and Emma Cooper scored one point in the win.
“This is why we played them and why we played Cookeville earlier in the week,” said Green on scheduling tough opponents. “I thought with it being a Saturday game we might be dragging, and we were a little bit but we played better than I thought we would.”
The Dragonettes closed the regular season on a 22-game winning streak while capturing the District 5/AA regular season title. They’ll turn their attention towards the district tournament with their first game being on Thursday against an opponent to be determined.
“We’re still growing offensively,” said Green. “We’re continuing to grow. If you make it to the state championship game you’ve got nine games left. That’s a lot of time to improve but you’ve got to take care of business in between. If you don’t do that it doesn’t matter.”
The 5th-ranked Dragons closed the night with a 70-59 win over the Patriots.
“We gutted it out,” said York head coach Rodney Pile. “Six hard fought games in nine days. I’m really proud of the guys. Very proud of this gutsy win right here.”
The Dragons (19-10, 7-1), who were playing without junior guard Myles Leffew (illness), and Patriots (12-15, 6-2) each opened the game in rhythm from the field. The Dragons made four threes in the first quarter, including two by Blaine York, while the Patriots made three as the teams were tied at 23 after one.
The offenses continued to play well in the second. Bryson Bilbrey scored seven points in the frame, but the Dragons trailed by two at the halftime break.
The York defense showed up in the third quarter, holding the Patriots to eight points in the frame, but the Patriots defense held York to 11 points giving the Dragons a one point lead into the final stanza.
Freshman Will Beaty scored seven points in the fourth quarter as the Dragons pulled away to earn the 11-point victory.
“We finally got into the flow and slowed them down,” said Pile. “Overall just a great, gutsy win and performance.”
York led the way for the Dragons with 21 points. Bilbrey scored 17, Beaty scored 14, Heath Wattenbarger scored 11 and Jackson Conatser added seven in the victory.
“It should be (a confidence booster),” said Pile on Beaty’s performance. “Will’s a freshman who’s played a lot of minutes so he should start to become that sophomore on the floor. He’s doing a great job.”
The Dragons will turn their attention towards the District 5/AA tournament where they are the top-seed after winning a coin toss against Jackson County. They will face the winner of Sequatchie County vs Bledsoe County on Friday night.
“First of all we’ve got to get some rest,” said Pile. “Then Monday and Tuesday we’ll hopefully get some good practices. We’ve not really had any practice time. It’s been about three weeks since we’ve had a good practice. That’s where you get better and that’s where it starts.”
