by Rusty Ellis
The Cookeville Lady Cavs opened a two-game sweep over York Institute in a 45-34 CHS victory on Tuesday night.
Cookeville opened the game on fire defensively, as they took a 14-5 lead near the end of the first quarter. Reese Beaty didn’t allow the Dragonettes to fall too far behind however, as she knocked down a three before the buzzer to cut the lead to six, kicking off a 14-4 run for York.
This added up to a 19-18 lead at the half for the visitors.
The third quarter saw both teams struggle offensively, as it wasn’t until the 2:55 mark of the quarter when Cookeville broke the drought and took a 20-19 lead.
Both offenses began to find some steam, and it was Cookeville who took a 26-25 lead into the fourth.
There, threes by Macy Hudson and Jordan Gillies helped the Lady Cavs pull away, as CHS earned a 45-34 win over York Institute.
Cassie Gallagher led the way with 13 points for Cookeville, while Allie Gillies added 12. Beaty led York with 11 points.
For head coach Jamie Gillies, the execution and intensity her team showed in the fourth proved to be the difference in the game.
“I told them if we had played the whole game like we did the fourth, it would’ve been a different story,” Gillies said. “York slows the ball down a lot, and we let them slow us down…we got back to the way we play, and our movement on offense looked a lot better. It helps when you knock down open looks.”
Despite the difference in classification, Gillies will be one of the first to tell you she learned a lot about her team’s performance against another team she expects to make it to Murfreesboro in Class 2A.
“They’re a great team,” Gillies said. “It’s emotional for my kids because they play AAU with all of these girls…it’s a good win for our program, they’re a runner-up from state and I have no doubt they’ll be back there. Obviously, that’s the caliber of team we want to play. I made the schedule this way for a reason.”
The Cavaliers followed the girls game up with an eight-point win of their own over the Dragons.
The first quarter saw the Cavs get off to a great start defensively, as they limited York to just eight points and led 24-8 heading into the second frame.
York managed to cut into the lead a bit in the second quarter, outscoring the Cavs by four, but Cookeville still found itself with a 34-19 lead at the halftime break thanks to a Josh Heard three just before the horn sounded.
Cookeville pushed the lead back up a couple points with a 14-12 advantage in the third quarter, and weathered a late run by York to hold on for a 70-60 victory.
Heard led the way with another electric game for Cookeville, as he led all scorers with 31 points. Bryson Bilbrey led the Dragons with 17 points, and Blaine York scored 12 of his own.
While pleased that his team got a win, head coach Josh Heard was quite critical of his team’s effort on the boards from the end of the first quarter on. Heard says he felt like that was what led to the success on defense in the opening frame.
“We rebounded the ball and ran the break, so we scored quick off our defense,” Heard said. “Then all of a sudden, we just stopped rebounding…I wouldn’t necessarily call it a success, because championship teams that win district championships don’t do that.”
Heard went on to reiterate this sentiment, stating that while winning is nice right now, his team and staff have loftier goals than that.
“We’re in this to win championships, we’re not in this to just beat local teams,” Heard said. “We’re not going to be satisfied with our effort…as soon as we start letting these boys have an excuse for not having the effort the way we coach them to have it, we’ve lost them. So we’re not pleased with that at all.”
Cookeville will be back on the court on Friday at Warren County, while York will face Oneida on Thursday.
