York, Monterey Girls Advance to 5-2A Championship Game

By Michael Lindsay

 

The District 5-2A girls championship game will feature Monterey and York Institute for the second consecutive season as both teams won their semifinal contests Friday evening in Monterey.

 

York Institute vs. Jackson County

The UC #1-ranked York Institute Dragonettes opened postseason play with a dominant 58-19 victory over Jackson County in Friday’s District 5-2A semifinals at Monterey.

“It was good to get that first win in the district tournament,” said York head coach Michael Green. “Sometimes, you have some nerves. I thought we played pretty well for four quarters.”

The #1-seeded Dragonettes (28-2) have won 23 consecutive games including Friday’s win.

Multiple Dragonettes scored in double figures, led by Reese Beaty with 17. Senior Gabby Beaty had 13 while Ellie Leffew had 12.

“It was a good night,” Green said. “I think we got most of the players in the scorebook. It’s always good to have three in double figures. Overall, it was a balanced scoring night. We didn’t shoot many threes and we did a good job attacking their zone.

Jackson County (8-18) was led by Jalynn Meadows, who posted 7 points.

York Institute hit the ground running as an early 16-0 run gave them an 18-2 lead at the end of the first quarter.

York kept the defensive pressure up in the second period as they pushed their lead to 36-7 by halftime.

“We wanted to get off to a good start,” Green said. “I think our defense and press were effective all night.”

Reese Beaty had 12 first-half points for the Dragonettes.

The second half mirrored the first as York Institute controlled the third period to take a 53-15 lead into the fourth quarter. York cruised through the final period to win by 58-19.

Up next for the Dragonettes is Monday’s District 5-2A championship against Monterey.

“It’s always good to be in the district championship,” Green said. “It’s here at Monterey so that will be a huge home-court advantage for them. They can all shoot from three and try to keep them off the offensive boards.”

Monterey vs. York Institute is scheduled to tip off Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Monterey High School.

York Institute (58): Reese Beaty 17, Gabby Beaty 13, Ellie Leffew 12, Josie Linder 5, Emma Cooper 4, Emma Pile 3, Cali Franklin 2, Raylee Werner 2

Jackson County (19): Jalynn Meadows 7, Riley Thomas 5, Reece Thomas 4, Claire Williams 2, Kenley Letterman 1

 

Monterey vs. Sequatchie County

The Monterey Lady Wildcats avenged two regular-season losses and punched their ticket to the District 5-2A championship game Friday evening as they defeated Sequatchie County, 44-37.

Sequatchie County (13-16) defeated the Lady Wildcats 45-32 and 52-31 in the regular season, but that didn’t matter Friday night as Monterey (14-16) held off a late Lady Indian run for the semifinal victory.

“We had a little streak the last few games that we’ve not played to our ability,” said Monterey head coach Michelle Farley. “We’ve worked all week on what we were going to do for this game. They played good overall as a team.”

Monterey guard Lydia Phillips led her team in scoring with 13 points, followed by the program’s all-time leading scorer Lindsey Wright posting 12 points.

A low-scoring first quarter saw Monterey take a narrow 9-7 advantage over Sequatchie County. The Lady Wildcats pushed their lead to 14-7 via a Phillips jumper with 2:47 remaining in the second period before the Lady Indians responded with an 11-0 run before halftime to take an 18-14 lead into the break.

“I thought we earned the first quarter, but I would have given the second quarter to them,” Farley said. “We talked about making the third and fourth quarters ours and trying to fight through it. Sequatchie is tough.”

Monterey’s first-half scoring was spread out as Phillips led the team with 4 points through two quarters.

“If they’re shutting you down, we’ve got to find ways to get you to the basket,” Farley said. “I thought tonight sometimes we were a little slower moving it around. We started to do that and got more looks.”

Monterey retook the lead early in the third period as a Wright three-pointer and Phillips transition basket put the Lady ‘Cats ahead 19-18.

Monterey pushed their lead out to 6 points (26-20) via a Wright three-pointer late in the frame before the Lady Indians closed with 5 straight points to trail 26-25 entering the fourth quarter.

After trading early baskets, Monterey and Sequatchie County found themselves tied at 29 points each with 6:10 remaining.

“We told them to keep their heads in the game and we talked about playing proper defense,” Farley said on late-game management. “They stuck to the game plan.”

Monterey center Abbie Sasser stepped up midway through the fourth period as she put back an offensive rebound for a basket on three consecutive possessions, giving her team a 35-31 lead with 4:18 remaining.

Sequatchie County pulled within two points on the ensuing possession before Monterey answered with Sasser hitting Wright on a backdoor cut to put the Lady Wildcats up 37-33 with 3:45 remaining.

Monterey pushed their lead out to 5 points (40-35) with 1 minute remaining, but Sequatchie County stayed alive as they trimmed the Lady ‘Cats advantage to 40-37 with 35 seconds left.

Monterey’s Phillips put the game on ice from there as a free throw with 34.9 seconds left put her team up 2 possessions, 41-37.

Following a defensive stop, Zoey gore sank the game’s final free throws to secure her team’s 43-37 semifinal victory.

Monterey has advanced to the District 5-2A championship for the second consecutive season against York Institute (28-2).

The Dragonettes won last season’s district title game 59-38 en route to a Class 2A state runner-up finish. York swept their two contests against Monterey this season and defeated Jackson County in the other semifinal, 58-19. 

“York’s a great team and they’re coached so well,” Farley said. “They (Monterey) are eager and these seniors are going to lead us and do their best in that championship game.”

Monterey (43): Lydia Phillips 13, Lindsey Wright 12, Abbie Sasser 8, Zoey Gore 6, Kelsi Flanigan 5

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