SMITHTOWN – The Lady Wildcats season came to an unfortunate end on Tuesday night in their rematch against Smithtown Christian (SCS). Livingston Manor had a lead at halftime, but a strong second half put SCS ahead, and they finished with a 42-36 victory.

“Either team could have won the game, and it was nice to see that we can compete at this level,” Coach Maggi Fitzpatrick said.

Foul trouble told the story for the Lady Wildcats, committing 12 first half fouls with three of their seven players finishing the first half with at least three fouls. Despite the foul trouble, Livingston Manor clung to a 1-point lead over SCS at the end of both the first and second quarters. In the third quarter, sisters Abbey and Annalyn Loiacono took over, combining for 12 points. Kristina Davis was Livingston Manor’s lone scorer in the third, netting seven of her season-high 22.

Trailing 30-26 at the start of the 4th quarter, the Lady Wildcats were far from done. Jocelyn Mills and Maggi Ross both fouled out in the fourth quarter, leaving Manor with only five players, but were still able to keep up with the SCS scoring despite the depleted roster. The Lady Wildcats committed nine fouls in the final frame, including the fifth and final foul for Alyssa Peck in the waning seconds of the game that left Livingston Manor with only four on the court.

Abbey Loiacono capitalized on the fouls, scoring seven of her 11 fourth quarter points from the charity stripe. The elder Loiacono was a problem all night, evading the Livingston Manor defense for a game-high 29 points, while her younger sister Annalyn added 11.

The 22 points from Davis were complimented by seven from Hailey Wolcott, three from Maggi Ross, and two each from Navaeha Jones and Jillian Carlsen.

On top of the early foul trouble, turnovers plagued the Lady Wildcats in the early going. “We committed uncharacteristic turnovers. Whether it was from dribbling too long or into a trap, the girls were nervous,” Fitzpatrick explained.

Nerves were to be expected, for a team with virtually no varsity experience until this season playing in the state championship tournament.

“Most of the girls haven’t played a real season since modified and it was their first postseason experience,” Maggi concluded. “We’ll be back, though.”