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Playing the play-in

Lady Wildcats beat Lady Lions in sectional qualifier

Anthony Morgano
Posted 2/25/22

LIVINGSTON MANOR – The road to the post-season starts with the first practice. Everything during the season, from the non-league games to fill the schedule to the tough division matchup, …

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Playing the play-in

Lady Wildcats beat Lady Lions in sectional qualifier

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LIVINGSTON MANOR – The road to the post-season starts with the first practice. Everything during the season, from the non-league games to fill the schedule to the tough division matchup, prepares players and coaches for the final stretch to reach the sectionals.

For Livingston Manor and Chapel Field, each was a division win away from qualifying for sectionals, and the two teams met in their final game of the regular season. Playoff energy was buzzing throughout the Livingston Manor gymnasium, but it was the Lady Wildcats who defended their home court, defeating the Lady Lions 43-35.

Livingston Manor, 7-10 (2-2), executed their gameplan to perfection from the opening tip. The girls jumped out to an early 8-2 lead in the first before Chapel Field ended the quarter on a 6-4 run to make it 12-8.

In the first matchup between these two, a fifth quarter was needed to decide a winner, Livingston Manor. Chapel Field recovered from that loss, defeating Eldred in their rematch. With Livingston Manor losing both matchups to Eldred, by a combined six points, they needed to defeat Chapel Field for the second time.

The first matchup was close, but Tuesday’s game was anything but. After leading by 4 at the end of the first, the Lady Wildcats continued to pour it on, taking a 26-14 lead into halftime. Chapel Field started to make up ground in the third, ending the quarter on a steal and score as time expired to cut Livingston Manor’s lead to 9.

In the final frame, Chapel Field was briefly within five points of the tie, but Livingston Manor netted a few much-needed baskets after the 6-0 run. When time expired, the home crowd went crazy as Livingston Manor won and qualified for sectionals.

Livingston Manor’s defense carried them through the wire-to-wire victory, rendering one of Chapel Field’s most important pieces nearly useless. Arianna Lopez, who still managed to score ten points, was sealed off for most of the night, with many of her points being scored by offensive rebounds and the opportunistic steal and score to end the third. Jamie Antoni was similarly opportunistic on offense, positioning herself to grab misses and put them back up. Antoni scored 11 in the loss, leading Chapel Field.

“We were much better on defense tonight,” Livingston Manor coach Maggi Fitzpatrick said. “Our defense, combined with our transition offense was key. We were patient and it helped us finish on offense.”

Kristina Davis led the Lady Wildcats with 20 points, pushing the pace in transition as well as creating space in the half court offense. Hailey Wolcott added six, and Jocelyn Mills and Jillian Carlsen each had 5. Livingston Manor was 4-8 from the free throw line, while Chapel Field reached the charity stripe 13 times and converted 7.

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