Cats play strong in Watertown, Lady Cats brought low in Low Country

In holiday basketball action, the Livingston Academy Wildcats went to Florida and came home the week before Christmas with two sound defeats and a forfeit win. On the other hand, that same week, the Lady Cats traveled to Lebanon and posted a pair of good wins against no losses.

That’s not quite the way it worked the week after the big day. This time, the Lady Cats hit the long road, a trip to lower South Carolina while the boys stayed close to home at Watertown.

At the Low Country Tournament in Summerville, SC, the Lady Wildcats could never put four quarters together and were hammered three straight times. In Watertown, the Wildcats posted strong showings in the first and third games for wins while falling by one point in the second.

When the final buzzer sounded for the boys, they would find themselves heading into the new year with a 9-7 record, while the Lady Cats, although losers of three straight in South Carolina, were still sporting a decent 11-5 mark.

Lady Wildcats Head Coach Lesley Riddle likes to face tough opponents in non-district games so she can find where her squad needs to improve. She’ll have a lot to think about on the long trip up Interstates 26 and 40 on the way home.

The boys got the first shot at a win after Christmas when they took on Monterey in the opening round of the Watertown Christmas Tournament on Wednesday. The Wildcats of Monterey hung tough through the first quarter, trailing by only five, 15-10, at the end of the frame, but then the real Wildcats, from Livingston, poured it on in the second quarter, outscoring the other Wildcats 20-8 then cruised to a 70-39 victory.

Junior Tucker Miller had the hot scoring hand in that game, hitting for 25 points, including 16 from the three-point ring. Cole Harris posted 12 points and Daniel Bilbrey come in with 11. Parker Beechboard added 6, Brodey Coffee had 5, Carter Harris was good for 3, and Rocco Carwile, Drew Goolsby, Wyatt Hargis, and Sawyer McBride each had 2.

The following day, the Wildcats faced off against Wilson Central and dropped a heartbreaker, 47-46. The game went to the wire with Wilson guarding a slim one-point lead most of the second half, then holding on for the win. Only six Wildcats hit the floor and were led by Bilbrey with 14 points and Cole Harris with 11. Miller was good for 7, but only one three-pointer, Hargis had 6, Carwile 5, and Coffee 3.

In the final game of the event, LA squared off against Huntland and came away with a solid 78-53 win. Both teams had solid firepower in the first half, with LA taking a 21-11 lead in the first quarter then Huntland coming back with a 21-12 advantage in the second for a 33-32 LA lead at intermission. The Wildcats broke away in the third frame, outscoring the opposition 25-9.

Miller found his three-point touch in the game, hitting five and leading the LA scoring with 23 points. Cole Harris scored 19, Bilbrey and Coffee each added 10, Hargis had 8, Jagar Hammock added 4, with Carter Harris, McBride and Carwile each posting 2.

For the Lady Cats, the seafood near the coast was good and fresh, but in the first two games they fought hard only to have one period let them down. In the third game, it was the entire second half that fell apart.

Livingston opened the event against Peter Township out of Pennsylvania and trailed by three, 20-17, at the end of the first quarter. Then in the second 8 minutes, the Lady Cats were outscored 18-3 and could never recover. Peter Township won 64-41.

Ellie Butler did her usual thing of scoring from almost anywhere and led the LA attack with 24 points. Keely Mullins added 10, Chloe Jenkins had 5, and Cora Copeland dropped in 2. Jenkins led the rebounding with 4, and Copeland, Butler, and Mullins all had 3. Mallie Coleman, playing for the first time since the first game of the season due to an injury, led in assists with 4. Butler had 4 steals.

Against Olentangy Liberty out of Ohio, it was much the same story, the difference this time was the Lady Cats “dropped the ball” in the third quarter, not the second. At the end of the first frame, LA trailed by one, 10-9, and at the half it was 22-28, Liberty. Then in the third period, Liberty outscored the Lady Cats by 12 points and for all practical purposes, the game was over.

It was Butler again leading the scoring with 21 points with Mullins adding 13, Jenkins 7, and Coleman 4. Butler dominated the boards for LA with 11 rebounds, while Mullins had 4 and Copeland 3.

And in the third and final game of the tournament against South Fayette, LA, the entire second half just went away. At the intermission, Livingston trailed by only four points after having erased a 10-point deficit and closing to within 2.

But it all went away when the Lady Cats scored only 4 points in the third period and 9 in the fourth while the Lady Lions scored 26.

Livingston fell 67-41.

Butler had Livingston’s first 12 points of the game and 19 in the first half. She only managed 2 in the second half. Mallie Carwile had 27 points, Mullins had 6, Jenkins 4, and Jaicie Garrett hit Livingston’s final points, a three pointer.

“We wanted to face strong opposition and that’s why we came here,” Coach Riddle pointed out. “Now we can see where we need to improve. I made big mistakes in the second game in the way I changed players, and I’ll work to correct that. Now it’s time to hit the regular season.”

Both LA teams will be at Cumberland County on Friday, Jan 5.