By Rob Potter
LIVINGSTON MANOR — The 2008-2009 scholastic basketball season ended a few weeks ago, but the top coaches and players are still receiving accolades.
Three of those earning honors are from the Livingston Manor Central School varsity girls’ basketball team. They are Coach Kevin Clifford, sophomore guard Marissa Diescher and senior center Chaz Reed.
Clifford was named the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division VI Coach of the Year by his fellow division coaches.
“It is a nice honor,” Clifford said.
Clifford noted that this was the first season in which he guided his team to 15 wins. The Lady Wildcats finished the 2008-2009 campaign with a 15-6 record.
Five of those losses were to teams which were ranked in the top 10 in either Class C or Class D of the New York State Sportswriters’ Association girls’ basketball poll at some point during the season. Only the S.S. Seward Lady Spartans were unranked when they beat Manor.
Clifford’s previous high mark for victories in a season was 13, which he achieved during the 2003-2004 season. The Lady Wildcats went 13-8 overall that year and advanced to the Section IX Class D championship game.
Diescher, who averaged 21.2 points per game this season, earned several awards. She was chosen by the Basketball Coaches Association of New York as the OCIAA Division VI Player of the Year, First Team for OCIAA Division VI and First Team for Section IX Class D.
In addition, Diescher was named Second Team All-State for Class D by the New York State Sportswriters’ Association.
Reed, who averaged 11 points a game this season, was selected to the OCIAA Division VI First Team.