By Michael Lindsay
The District 5-2A girls championship plaque is heading to Jamestown for the fourth consecutive season as the York Institute Dragonettes (24-5) defeated #2 seed Smith County (22-8) 54-19 in Monday’s championship game at Monterey.
“You never take these for granted,” said York Institute head coach Michael Green. “We wanted to enjoy this and have fun; this is this group’s last district championship game together.”
District 5-2A Tournament MVP and UCR Girls Player of the Year Reese Beaty led the Dragonettes with 28 points in Monday’s win followed by 10 points from Emma Cooper and 8 from Cali Franklin. Kaylee Dixon led Smith County with 9 points.
“Reese was huge,” said Green. “We’ve not shot the ball well the last two games here, and there were times we needed scores and she came in and did that. Defensively, you always have to know where she is and she’s great to have.”
The Dragonettes took control early as a Franklin corner three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining gave York a 12-3 lead after one period.
“We wanted to be confident and focused from the tip,” said Green. “Reese and Raylee (Werner) got in foul trouble early, but we’ve still got to be able to play the way we want to play anyways. The girls that came in did a great job of adjusting.”
York extended their lead early in the second quarter as a corner three from Zoey Gibson gave her team a 21-4 lead with 3:23 left until halftime. York entered the locker room with a 27-10 advantage.
The Dragonettes outscored Smith County 12-6 in the third quarter to hold a 39-16 lead entering the fourth, where they held the Lady Owls to one three-pointer to win by a 54-19 final score.
“To hold them under 20 points is a feat in itself,” said Green. “They can shoot the three and have size to post up. That wasn’t a slowed-down game, either. The effort and knowledge of the people on the floor speaks volumes on our team.”
With the win, York’s senior class has won the district tournament all four years while going a perfect 43-0 against District 5-2A foes to date.
“We’ve got goals, and a district championship is one of them,” said Green. “As much as we wanted this, now the next game is the most important. I hope the girls enjoy this tonight, then we’ll get focused back in on the region tournament.”
Up next for both York and Smith County are the Region 3-2A tournament quarterfinals on Friday. Both teams will play a standalone home game as York will host District 6-2A’s fourth-place finisher Trousdale County while Smith County will host #3 White House Heritage at 7 p.m.
