MURFREESBORO – The York Dragonettes advanced to the semifinal round of the state tournament with a 44-43 win over Memphis Business Academy in the TSSAA Class 2A State Tournament on Wednesday at the Murphy Center.
The Dragonettes overcame a slow start in both halves and made key plays late in the contest to advance to the final four for the second straight year.
“We know we did not play up to our standards, but it’s the state tournament… my only disappointment is I know how good we are,” said York head coach Michael Green. “That’s a wake-up call because we were just about sitting at the house watching. (MBA) gave us all they had, but anytime you can win here I’m going to be as grateful as possible.”
The Dragonettes struggled shooting early, going 0-6 from the field in the middle of the first quarter, but their defense limited the Lady Execs, who were making their first state tournament appearance, to three points before Emma Cooper converted an and-one to give the Dragonettes a 6-3 lead. MBA ended the frame on a 6-2 run to take a 9-8 lead after one.
Emma Pile buried a three for York early in the second quarter to give the Dragonettes the lead. York then stretched their lead to nine with a 10-0 run in the middle of the frame before the Lady Execs answered with a bucket. Pile’s three triples in the quarter led the Dragonettes to a 23-16 lead despite just one point in the half by Iowa State signee Reese Beaty.
The Lady Execs opened the second half on a 9-0 run to regain a 25-23 lead. Beaty then hit a three, but MBA answered with an 8-3 run to take a 33-29 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Dragonettes’ full-court press created several turnovers early in the final frame. Cali Franklin drained a three to regain a 36-33 advantage with 5:55 to play. The teams then traded points with the Lady Execs hitting a jumper with 2:03 to play to give them a 43-42 lead. Franklin answered with a layup off a MBA turnover to make it 44-43 with 1:12 to play.
The Dragonettes forced a five-second violation with nine seconds remaining then dribbled out the clock to secure their third trip to the state semifinals in the last four seasons.
“We overcame adversity,” said Green. “We got a little reality check. I’m not sure why it took three quarters. I told them we’re going to face adversity. This team hasn’t had to fight through a whole lot of that. We found ways to pull through late and overcame the adversity. We’re not going to complain.”
Franklin and Pile led the Dragonettes with 11 points each.
“Huge,” said Green on Franklin’s performance. “That’s what it’s all about. You want people you can count on late when things are going bad. She’s battling. The biggest thing you can say about her is she’s going to give it all she’s got.”
Beaty tallied nine points and five rebounds. Emma Cooper scored seven points with five rebounds. Raylee Werner tallied four points and six assists. Zoe Gibson scored two.
The Dragonettes (29-5) will take on Gatlinburg-Pittman in the state semifinals. The two teams split their regular season meetings, with the Lady Highlanders winning 52-46 in overtime on December 3 and the Dragonettes winning 57-49 on February 4 after Beaty’s return from injury.
“This game proves that what you’ve done before today doesn’t matter,” said Green. “If we’re going to do what we’re out here to do, what we did tonight wasn’t good enough. We’re going to have to pick it up and really focus on all of us.”
Tipoff is set for 2:15 p.m. Friday at the Murphy Center.
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