By Michael Lindsay
Girls
The York Institute Dragonettes secured the District 5-2A #1 seed in their last regular-season game on Friday evening as they defeated the Smith County Lady Owls in Carthage, 56-42.
“We did a pretty good job there late,” said York head coach Michael Green. “Smith County has a great team and coach Matt Ferrell does a great job taking advantage of their mismatches.”
Sophomore guard Raylee Werner led York Institute with 21 points along with 20 by junior Miss Basketball finalist Reese Beaty.
“When teams are packing the paint in and are focused on Reese, we have to have some girls hit some shots,” said Green. “It’s not a secret. Raylee Werner played like she did the first half of the season. I think she used these all-district awards as motivation.”
Chloe Collins led the Lady Owls with 17 points including three three-pointers.
Smith County opened the contest with a 10-0 advantage via a Collins three-pointer with 3:33 left in the first quarter. Smith County held on to lead 11-6 after one period.
“Any time you come out down 10-0, that’s not a good start,” said Green. “We weren’t ready to go; I think we were a little nervous. Getting down like that, especially in this great atmosphere, I think a lot of teams would crumble.”
York Institute closed the gap in the second quarter as an Emma Cooper and-one cut Smith County’s lead to 11-9 with 6:36 left in the period. A pair of Raylee Werner free throws tied the contest at 14 points each with 3:10 left in the frame.
The Dragonettes broke through to take an 18-17 lead via two Cooper free throws late in the frame before a Beaty jumper with 7 seconds left gave York a 20-19 lead at halftime.
York Institute extended their lead early in the second half as a pair of Beaty free throws pushed their advantage to 31-24.
The Dragonettes weren’t done there as they grew their lead to double digits (36-26) later in the period via a three-pointer and layup by Werner on consecutive possessions. An Emma Pile buzzer-beating corner three-pointer extended York’s lead to 41-28 to end the third.
Smith County battled back within single digits with 6:45 left in the fourth quarter as an Emry Jones steal and layup cut York’s lead to 41-32.
The Dragonettes responded with back-to-back baskets to retake a double-digit advantage at 45-32 with 6 minutes remaining. York wouldn’t surrender their double-digit lead for the rest of the fourth quarter as they held on to win by a 56-42 final score.
The Dragonettes improve to 20-5 overall and 8-0 in District 5-2A play with the win while Smith County falls to 18-9 and 6-2.
“We’ve battled all these great teams all year to be ready and not get beat in the district,” said Green. “All that was for nothing if you don’t take care of this. The main goal is to get to the region semifinal and win that one. What happens after that will take care of itself.”
Both teams will compete in next week’s District 5-2A tournament at Jackson County High School.
York Institute (56): Raylee Werner 21, Reese Beaty 20, Emma Pile 6, Emma Cooper 5, Zoey Gibson 4
Smith County (42): Chloe Collins 17, Dacey Claywell 9, Merissa Spivey 7, Emry Jones 4, Julia Dickerson 3, Airyn Enoch 2
Boys
The York Institute Dragons closed out a perfect run through District 5-2A Friday evening as they won at Smith County, 60-56.
“This is a tough place to play,” said Pile. “We knew it was going to be a great environment and they had a big crowd. This had more of a feel of a region semifinal than a regular-season game. Both teams had a lot to play for and this is the best time of the year.”
Jackson Conatser led York Institute with 20 points including 4 three-pointers followed by 13 from Carter Gibson.
“Jackson played well and had a good game,” said Pile. “Carter Gibson came off the bench and had a great game. All the guys really did; we took a few charges and that stops the momentum of the other team. I’m extremely proud of everybody’s effort.”
Clayton Rigsby and Peyton Hix led Smith County with 16 points each.
Smith County took a 7-2 lead to open the contest via a Hix three-pointer with 4:45 left in the first quarter as the Owls led 14-9 after one.
York Institute caught Smith County in the second quarter as a Conatser three-pointer gave the Dragons a 19-17 lead with 4:45 left until halftime. The teams traded leads over the final 4 minutes of the first half as a Will Beaty basket with 8 seconds left gave York a 25-24 lead at the break.
Smith County retook a 33-31 lead over the Dragons midway through the third period.
“We were down after the first quarter and had a great second quarter to take a lead at halftime,” said Pile. “We were talking about building on the lead, and before you know it we’re down again. We need to make some free throws at the end to seal it up better, but I’m proud of the way guys kept playing and battling.”
York retook the lead at 35-33 via a Gibson basket with 3:30 left in the third. Smith County retook the lead at 38-37 late in the frame before a Heath Wattenbarger three-pointer put the Dragons up 40-38. The Owls found the bottom of the net last in the quarter as a Hix basket tied the game at 40 entering the fourth quarter.
The Dragons pushed ahead by 7 points midway through the fourth quarter as a Gibson three-pointer gave York a 49-42 lead with 4:23 left.
Smith County battled back within 3 points with the ball with less than 10 seconds remaining, but York Institute held off the Owls as they went on to win by a 60-56 final score.
York improves to 17-7 overall and finishes 8-0 in District 5-2A play while Smith County falls to 12-17 and 5-3. The Dragons have secured first place in the upcoming district tournament while Smith County finishes tied for second with Jackson County. Both teams will compete in next week’s District 5-2A tournament at Jackson County.
York Institute (60): Jackson Conatser 20, Carter Gibson 13, Heath Wattenbarger 9, Will Beaty 9, Bryson Bilbrey 6, Andrew Hall 3
Smith County (56): Clayton Rigsby 16, Peyton Hix 16, Bennett Gammon 8, Tyler Jones 6, Taylor Kemp 4, Morgan Sinclair 3, Riley Martin 2, Gage Gibbs 1
