By Michael Lindsay

Basketball season tipped off in Jamestown Tuesday night as York Institute split a pair of games with Jackson County. The Dragonettes opened the evening with a 49-30 victory over the Lady Devils while the Jackson County boys won 61-36.

Girls

The York Dragonettes opened the 2025-’26 in the win column as they defeated former district foe Jackson County, 49-30.

“We played decent with what we had to face,” said York Institute head coach Michael Green. “It was sloppy and ugly, but not terrible for the first game of the season. I’ve told several people that Jackson County has a great shot in Class A.”

Raylee Werner and Emma Cooper led York Institute with 17 points each while Jalynn Meadows led Jackson County with 12.

“We have to have more out of everybody,” said Green. “We couldn’t get into a flow; we had several foul out.”

The Dragonettes jumped out to a 10-0 lead via an Emma Pile basket late in the first quarter. York extended their advantage to 21-6 via a Werner steal and layup with 4:23 remaining in the first half. The Dragonettes held a 25-11 lead at halftime.

York kept control through the second half as they went on to win by a 49-30 final score.

“I’m looking for defense,” said Green. “We’re trying to find our top 7 that will give us all they’ve got.”

Up next for the Dragonettes is a neutral-site contest against McMinn Central on Saturday at Roane State Community College in Harriman while Jackson County travels to Stone Memorial on Thursday.

Boys

A strong third quarter led the Jackson County Blue Devils to a season-opening victory at York Institute, 61-36.

Senior forward Will McCrary led the Blue Devils with 28 points followed by Parker Patterson with 16.

The Blue Devils jumped out to a 16-8 lead after the first quarter before extending their advantage to double digits (25-13) via an Aeden Netherton three-pointer with 4:04 remaining in the first half. York battled back from there as a Brody Choate jumper cut Jackson County’s lead to 26-21 with 27 seconds left until halftime.

The Blue Devils would answer last, however, as McCrary tipped in a rebound at the buzzer to give Jackson County a 28-21 halftime advantage.

A Coen Gibson basket early in the third cut York’s deficit to 5 points (28-23), but Jackson County took over from there as they outscored the Dragons 20-4 over the rest of the third quarter to lead 48-27 entering the fourth.

The Blue Devils closed out strong in the final period to win by a 61-36 final score. Up next for the Dragons neutral-site contest against McMinn Central on Saturday at Roane State Community College in Harriman while Jackson County travels to Stone Memorial on Thursday.