LIVINGSTON MANOR -- When Eldred and Livingston Manor's varsity girls basketball teams face one another, you can always expect them to put on a show. This was evident last season when both teams met in the Manor and it took two OTs to determine a winner. The Lady Wildcats came away with a three-point win, and held onto bragging rights by beating Eldred for the Section 9 Class D title in Newburgh later that season.

Last Friday's marquee league matchup between the division rivals went down to the wire again, with Manor winning 43-41.

The Lady Wildcats stormed back from a double digit deficit in the first half to take a 21-16 lead at halftime. The home team was down 16-6 before going on a 15-0 run to close out the first half.

The biggest turning point of the first half was a technical foul being called on Eldred after Manor's Samantha Severing pickpocketed Lenae Kelty and took off down the court for a fastbreak. Kelty drew a foul attempting to steal the ball back and drew a technical immediately after, forcing her to the bench for the remainder of the 2nd quarter. Severing converted each of the four free throws that she took as a result of the broken play.

Early in the third quarter, Eldred erased Livingston Manor's lead with a 6-0 run to force a Wildcats' timeout. By the end of the 3rd, the teams were tied at 27, with eight minutes separating either team from a win.

Kelty fouled out halfway through the fourth quarter, but the Lady Yellowjackets fought until the final buzzer. The Lady Wildcats were able to weather the storm in the fourth quarter, coming away with the two-point victory.

Severing was pivotal in Livingston Manor's victory, scoring 23 of the team's 43 points, being disruptive on defense as well as being a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line. The Lady Wildcats missed 15 shots from the charity stripe -- 12 of those misses occurring in the first half. Eldred accumulated their share of missed opportunities in the second half, attempting 16 free throws and only converting on 7 of them.

Livingston Manor punched their ticket to sectionals with the win, bringing their record to 3-5 (1-0 League).

“We were able to grab some momentum in the second quarter, and it helped to carry us to the end,” Livingston Manor Coach Kevin Clifford said following the game. “Eldred played hard the entire game, and I'm impressed with their effort throughout.”