By Michael Lindsay
Strong Second Half Leads York Dragonettes To 55-28 Victory Over Jackson County
The York Institute Dragonettes’ winning streak in District 5-2A opponents was extended to 32 games Friday night as they defeated the Jackson County Lady Blue Devils, 55-28.
Friday was York’s second game in the last 18 days.
“With the snow, we haven’t been able to get in the gym like we wanted to,” said York head coach Michael Green. “But that’s no excuse. The effort and energy just wasn’t there early. At halftime we told them this is a must-win game.”
York was led by 15 points from forward Emma Cooper along with 14 by point guard Raylee Werner. Jackson County was led by 12 points by Jalynn Meadows.
Despite the 27-point final margin, Jackson County and York Institute traded leads through the first half of the contest. Jackson County led 10-16 after the first quarter before the Dragonettes chipped away and took a 15-14 lead via an Emma Cooper basket with 55 seconds left in the second quarter. After the teams traded a late free throw each, York took a 16-15 lead into halftime.
Jackson County opened the second half with a Claire Williams three-pointer to take an 18-16 lead over the Dragonettes.
The Blue Devils’ lead was short-lived as York went on a 14-3 run over the ensuring 4 minutes to take a 30-20 lead with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter.
“We made some adjustments with our press and that really helped us there,” said Green. “That should’ve been those first quarters, too. These district teams are giving us all that they’ve got.”
The Dragonettes extended their lead to 34-22 by the end of the third quarter.
York closed out the fourth quarter strong as they outscored Jackson County 21-6 over the final eight minutes to win by a 55-28 final score.
York Institute improves to 21-5 overall and 2-0 in District 5-2A play while Jackson County falls to 9-5 and 1-1. Up next for York is a Saturday showdown in Lebanon with Community High School while Jackson County is set to host Smith County on Tuesday.
Jackson County Rolls To 70-19 Win At York Institute, Improves To 2-0 In District 5-2A
The Jackson County Blue Devils cruised to a 70-19 victory over the York Institute Dragons Friday evening in Jamestown to improve to 13-2 overall and 2-0 in District 5-2A action.
“We talked about maturity tonight,” said Jackson County head coach Kevin Thomas. “We know York is young this year. This time of year, you don’t want to get into bad habits. I thought they came out and played really focused. The older guys took care of the basketball and showed a lot of maturity.”
Junior forward Will McCrary led Jackson County with 25 points in three quarters along with 17 by Parker Patterson. Aeden Netherton scored 9 points while point guard Alex Meadows scored 6 points in his first game since posting a triple double against Monterey on Tuesday.
“I’ve been getting really solid play out of Alex Meadows at point guard,” said Thomas. “Parker shot the ball extremely well tonight and Will did what he always does. Those three guys had solid nights.”
Jackson County took control of the contest early as a Patterson three-pointer with 3:24 remaining in the first quarter gave the Blue Devils a 20-8 lead.
Jackson County pushed out to a 26-8 lead entering the second quarter, where they held York to 2 points in the frame to lead 42-10 at halftime. The Blue Devils cruised in the second half as they outscored the Dragons 28-9 over the final two quarters to win by a 70-19 final score.
Up next, York Institute is scheduled to face Community on Saturday followed by a trip to Monterey on Tuesday while Jackson County has a trip to Carthage Tuesday evening to face the Smith County Owls (8-11, 2-0).
“We’ve got to go on the road to Smith County,” said Thomas. “It’s a big district game and they’re a really talented team. It’s a tough place to play but we’re looking forward to it.”
