Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The Livingston Academy Lady Cats moved to 8-1 on the season and 1-0 to open district play on Tuesday with their 78-37 win over Macon County.
The Lady Cat defense was locked in from the jump, allowing them to take a 23-11 lead into the second quarter. The lead continued to balloon in the first half for Livingston, as the defense held Macon County to just nine second-quarter points. This added up to a 43-20 lead for LA.
The game opened up even further in the third, with the Lady Cats pushing the lead to 28 at 61-33 heading into the fourth quarter, and they cruised to the victory from there 78-37.
Ellie Butler led the way for Livingston with 16 points off the bench, while Halle Ledbetter added 8 in the victory for Leslie Riddle’s squad. Even with the win in hand, Riddle says there are still plenty of things her team can do to improve.
“I thought we were a little sloppy,” Riddle said. “We haven’t played in almost two weeks, but they were scrappy…I thought we missed some easy layups, and we just weren’t very sharp.”
The Lady Cats’ depth was on full display in this one, as 12 total players landed in the scoring column. In Riddle’s eyes, where that depth really helps them is at the defensive end of the floor.
“They know they can play as hard as they can because they don’t have to play a really long time,” Riddle said. “They know that they’re going to play as hard as they can for three or four minutes and then someone else will take over…I think that’s why our defense has been so good.”
The Wildcats followed up the girls with a win of their own, this one of the 60-49 variety over the Tigers.
The game was neck-and-neck early, as Isaac Story knocked down a three just before the horn to give the Wildcats a 16-13 lead at the end of the first. Both teams went back-and-forth in the second quarter as well, leading to a 29-29 deadlock at half.
The third quarter was where Livingston began to make some headway and build a lead. With the game tied at 31, the Wildcats finished the quarter on a 13-3 run to take a 44-34 lead into the final frame. There, tough defense and timely buckets allowed Livingston to close out their district opener with a 60-49 victory.
Story finished with a game-high 23 points for Livingston, while Hayden Ledbetter scored 12 points on the strength of three three-pointers.
“I think our effort was good,” said LA head coach Jimmy Miller. “We made some mistakes, but our effort and intensity was on-point tonight. I think execution-wise, we can do better…I didn’t think we finished some defensive plays like we have this season already.”
The game really opened up for the Wildcats in that third-quarter run, as Miller says he just saw his guys playing with confidence and that led to the success.
“Just confidence and making shots,” Miller said. “That’s what we’ve got to get better at. Some of our guys need a little more floor-time and to see some shots go in, and I think we can be a lot better.”
Livingston will now turn its focus to Thursday, when they host rival Pickett County. The girls will tip off at 6 P.M with the boys to follow.
