York Dragonette basketball player Raylee Werner wants to do all she can to make a difference, and as she enters her senior season, that responsibility now squarely rests on her shoulders.
Werner said the bond between herself and her teammates has only grown stronger throughout her time in Jamestown, something she believes will be critical this season.
“Our goal of course is winning,” Werner said. “But overall, our goal is to remain a family and we can’t do that unless everybody is together. Everybody helps everybody, that’s just how it is in Jamestown.”
York began the year adjusting to life without standout guard Reese Beaty, who is now playing college basketball at Iowa State. Beaty missed half of last season due to injury, forcing the Dragonettes to adapt on the fly. Werner said that stretch ultimately helped the team mature.
“We got the hang of it and once we did, we really improved,” Werner said. “When she came back, you put her in the mix, a great player with some other great players, we got what we wanted to, just didn’t get the outcome, didn’t finish strong enough.”
York put together a memorable run, advancing all the way to the state finals a season ago. With Beaty gone, Werner knows expectations from the outside may shift, but internally, the standard has not.
“After tryouts really, I realized wow, like this is it, we’re the leaders now, Reese [Beaty] is gone, we really have to step up and show what we can do,” Werner said. “Everybody’s like, oh they don’t have Reese anymore, but we’re still here, us four, we’re still good, we’ll be back.”
Basketball will remain part of Werner’s future as well. She has committed to Carson-Newman University, where she plans to continue her playing career while majoring in physical therapy. Werner said her long-term goal is to work in nursing or rehabilitation clinics, helping patients recover and regain strength.
For now, though, Werner said her focus is firmly on her final season in purple and gold: Leading, competing and making sure York basketball continues to feel like family.
