It Was Close . . .

. . . But Manor Took the Prize

By Rob Potter
LOCH SHELDRAKE — August 11, 2000 – It doesn’t matter what the weather is outside of the gymnasium.
Whether it is a cold, snowy February night or a warm, sticky August evening, a close, competitive game ensues whenever the girls’ basketball teams from Jeffersonville-Youngsville and Livingston Manor face each other.
In another chapter of what over the past several years has grown into one of the best rivalries between county teams, Livingston Manor downed J-Y 46-43 Wednesday night at Sullivan County Community College to claim the Sullivan Generals Summer League 2000 Championship.
Although Manor was able to build a seven-point margin in each of the 16-minute halves, the game wasn’t decided until the final seconds.
With 58 seconds remaining, Manor’s Bridget Ellison was fouled while attempting a shot. She calmly stepped to the line and nailed both free throws to give the Lady Wildcats a 44-41 lead.
On the ensuing Lady Trojan possession, Aileen Semenetz beat most of the other players down the court and scored a layup.
Semenetz then stole the ball at halfcourt as Manor attempted to move the ball upcourt and perhaps net a game-clinching hoop. Semenetz quickly drove to the hoop, but missed a layup.
The putback attempt by Shelisa Duquette also missed. In a scramble for the rebound, Manor gained control and moved the ball towards its basket.
A few ticks of the clock later, Ellison put up a short jumper in the lane. The shot fell through the net with just two seconds left to seal the Lady Wildcat win.
“It was a nailbiter,” said Manor coach Dave Irwin. “It always is when these teams play. They played hard and we played hard. It was a really competitive game.”
The Manor victory avenged a three-point defeat to J-Y in the summer league’s regular season. J-Y had been undefeated in the league until the title loss.
Manor and J-Y both finished the summer competition with 7–1 records. Delaware Valley finished third with a 5–3 record, Liberty (4–4) was fourth, Roscoe (3–5) fifth, Ellenville (2–6) claimed sixth place and Tri-Valley (0–8) finished seventh.
Despite his team opening seven-point leads midway through the first half and again with 10 minutes left in the contest, Irwin knew that the lead was not safe.
In the first half, J-Y used only three minutes to transform a 16-9 deficit into a 18-18 tie when Kristin Erlwein scored on a driving layup. With 7:13 remaining in the game, Tiffany Hauser scored inside to give the Lady Trojans a 33-32 lead. Just three minutes before, Manor held a 32-25 advantage.
“We expected that,” noted Irwin. “They are not going to give up. That’s not the way the team is and that’s not the way their coach is.”
Dave Irwin praised Ellison, Casey Green and his daughter, Rachelle Irwin, for their performance. Not surprisingly, those three players led the Manor scoring attack. Ellison netted 16 points, Green scored 11 and Irwin added nine.
Hauser netted 16 points to lead all J-Y scorers. Erlwein added seven and Duquette chipped in with six points.
In Monday night’s semifinals, Manor outlasted Liberty by a 52-41 margin and J-Y crushed Ellenville, 62-16.
Summer League standings and results appear on page 9B.