by Rusty Ellis
Livingston Academy earned a pair of wins over Pickett County in Byrdstown on Tuesday night.
The Lady Wildcats used a big-run to open the third quarter to take down the Lady Bobcats, led by a big game from sophomore Ellie Butler.
LA took a six-point lead into the second quarter, and then carried the same advantage into halftime with a 34-28 lead.
The Lady Wildcats came out with new energy in the third, as they opened with a 6-0 run to push the lead to double-digits at 40-28. When all was said and done in the third, LA outscored the hosts 13-7 and took a 45-35 lead into the fourth.
Pickett battled back with a 20-point final frame, but it wasn’t enough as Livingston earned a 61-55 win over the Lady Bobcats to move to 5-1 on the season.
Butler led the way with a game-high 27 points, while Halle Ledbetter added 13 of her own. Zoey Nicholas led Pickett with 17 points, while Addy Lowe scored 13.
As far as what stuck out in the win, head coach Leslie Riddle says she’s encouraged by how well the team played as a unit.
“I thought we played really well and we played together,” Riddle said. “Pickett does a really good job of speeding you up and making you play rushed…I thought we shared the ball really well and we finished well.”
The run in the third proved to be the key difference in the game, as it allowed Livingston to create separation on the scoreboard and play relaxed ball.
“They don’t care how far down they are, Pickett is known for coming back and winning games,” Riddle said. “I think that was the difference in the game…the intensity is what I like the best. I like that we can score in different ways, we’ve just got to keep ourselves out of foul trouble.”
For the boys game, Livingston jumped out to an early 12-4 lead and led 24-13 at the end of the first quarter, playing exceptional ball at both ends of the floor.
Pickett began to slice into that deficit in the second quarter, but Livingston added on two more points to the lead and took a 44-31 lead into the halftime break.
The second half is where foul trouble began to mount for the Bobcats, as they had seven total players foul out. This forced them to go to deeper into the bench than usual, though once again, they cut into the lead and only trailed by 10 heading into the fourth.
A three-point barrage by Jacob Amonett helped give Pickett a 70-69 lead with just over a minute to go in the game, but the lead wouldn’t last long. A steal on an inbounds pass gave Livingston an easy layup for a 71-70 lead late.
Pickett managed to get to the free throw line however, as they made one to force overtime.
LA’s Tucker Miller put the game on ice there however, as he made two threes at the start of the period to push the lead to 77-71. He then got a crucial steal and made two free throws late to clinch the win for LA at 82-73.
Isaac Story led the way for the Wildcats with 22 points, while Miller scored 16 points, half of which came in overtime. Amonett led the Bobcats with 31 points.
Livingston will host Creek Wood on Friday for their next contest, while Pickett County will face Oneida.
