By Michael Lindsay
The York Institute Dragonettes are champions of the Frank’s Shootout for the second straight year as a 41-point performance by junior point guard Reese Beaty led her team to a 59-47 victory over White County.
“We knew that White County was undefeated, and any time you play them on their home court, it’s always a battle,” said York head coach Michael Green. “Reese stepped up tonight; this is what we’ve needed her to do.”
Beaty’s 41 points are a career-high for the Clemson commit as she went 16-19 from the free-throw line.
“She’s capable of doing that any night,” Green said. “When everybody is kind of struggling, we need her to have a night like tonight.”
Celeste Reed led White County with 20 points while Ava Jones recorded 11.
York Institute held a 15-13 lead after one quarter with Beaty scoring 12 of York’s 15. White County closed the gap in the second period to a single point as a Reed buzzer-beating layup made the score 25-24 York at halftime.
The Dragonettes opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run as a Beaty layup gave her team a 36-26 lead midway through the period. York led by as many as 13 points (41-28) in the third quarter before taking a 45-35 advantage into the final period.
York Institute’s lead never fell below double digits in the fourth quarter as the Dragonettes went 14-20 from the free-throw line in the period to win by a 59-47 final score.
White County falls to 13-1 overall while York Institute improves to 10-2.
“My Facebook memory popped up today that we were 10-2 last year right after winning the Frank’s Shootout last year,” Green said. “We’ve played some great teams and I like where we’re at, but we’re not at a championship level yet.”
Both teams have wrapped up their pre-Christmas play as York is scheduled to face Blackman next on Dec. 29 in the Page Christmas Classic while White County will travel to California for three games Dec. 27-29.
