By Michael Lindsay
The York Institute Dragonettes are state tournament bound for the second consecutive season following their Class 2A sectional win over East Nashville on Saturday, 53-41.
“It’s huge; it’s a goal off the checklist,” said York Institute head coach Michael Green. “Our main goal is a gold ball, but you have to get there. We’ve checked some goals off, but we still have one we want.
“This crowd was huge; if we weren’t here, we may not win,” Green added. “I can’t say enough. We probably had 85% of the crowd, and that’s brutal for another team to play in.”
The 113-mile drive from York Insitute to the Murphy Center, site of the TSSAA state basketball tournaments, should be familiar to the Dragonette faithful as they finished runner-up in last year’s Class 2A state tournament.
York Institute was balanced offensively on Saturday as four Dragonettes scored in double figures. Reese Beaty led with 14 points, followed by Ellie Leffew with 13, Gabby Beaty with 12 and Emy Crabtree with 10.
Despite the 12-point victory, York Institute trailed by 4 points in the first half.
East Nashville jumped out to an 8-4 lead midway through the first period as the Lady Eagles held a 17-13 lead entering the second quarter.
The Dragonettes battled back to take a 19-17 lead via a Gabby Beaty three-pointer with 6:40 left in the first half. Along with their offense heating up, York Institute benefitted from a defensive change in the second period.
“We’re always aware that we may have to adjust during a game,” Green said. “We went to a 2-3, and I couldn’t tell you the last time we played a 2-3. We junked it up out of that.”
York extended their lead to 27-20 with 2:30 left in the second period via a pair of Reese Beaty free throws following a Crabtree steal. The Dragonettes’ advantage grew to 10 points by halftime, 32-22.
“To be down 4 at the end of the first quarter and be up 10 at the end of the first half was huge,” Green said. “I knew if we played smart, we’d pull out the win. That wasn’t as easy as we’d like; that was a battle.”
East Nashville cut their deficit to 8 points early in the third quarter before York Institute pushed ahead by 13 points (37-24) with 4:45 left in the frame.
The Lady Eagles closed the third period strong to trim their deficit to 8 points again at 39-31.
A Crabtree three-pointer and Reese Beaty layup gave the Dragonettes a 44-31 lead with 5:10 remaining.
East Nashville wouldn’t lay down quietly, however, as they cut York’s lead to 46-39 with 1:12 left.
“We didn’t handle this one too well,” Green said of his team’s late-game management. “We kept making things hard on ourselves; we had some turnovers that we’ve not had in forever. We missed some foul shots late.”
YAI freshman Raylee Werner sank a pair of free throws to put her team ahead by 9 (48-39) with 1:12 left.
Following a technical on East Nashville, Ellie Leffew put the game out of reach via a pair of free throws with 1:00 remaining to give the Dragonettes a 50-39 advantage. York closed out from there to win by a 53-41 margin.
The substate win was the home finale for seniors Gabby Beaty, Ellie Leffew and Emy Crabtree.
“Our three seniors stepped up big,” Green said. “If those three don’t play like they did, we’re going home. You can’t replace what they do. They’re the definition of toughness; if every player we’ve got can model themselves after them, we’re going to be good for a while.”
The Class 2A state tournament will take place next week from Thursday until Saturday. More information on York Institute’s quarterfinal matchup will be shared when available.
“This year, we can be a little more prepared,” Green said. “Once you get to Murfreesboro, you’re playing good teams. You have to adjust every minute of the game.”
York Institute (53): Reese Beaty 14, Ellie Leffew 13, Gabby Beaty 12, Emy Crabtree 10, Josie Linder 2, Raylee Werner 2
