By Ted Waddell
ROSCOE — February 12, 2008 — For the Roscoe Lady Blue Devils, Thursday night’s victory represented a mission accomplished.
Heading into its Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division VI game against its traditional rival the Livingston Manor Lady Wildcats, host Roscoe had to win at least one more game during regular season play to clinch a berth in the upcoming Section IX Class D tournament.
And that’s exactly what happened as the Lady Devils defeated Manor, 51-39.
Roscoe (9-8, 4-3 Division VI) jumped out to a slim 12-9 lead in the first quarter.
But Manor (9-7, 3-4 Division VI) outscored the Lady Blue Devils 16-8 the second period to take a 25-20 lead at the half.
The Lady Blue Devils rebounded in the second half, outscoring Manor 16-4 in the third quarter and 15-10 in the fourth.
Leading Roscoe to the win were Sky Dutcher and Amanda Ladenhauf, each of whom scored 12 points.
Paige Clancy added seven points for the Lady Blue Devils.
Two Lady Wildcats, Natalia Cruz and Angela Zayas, scored in double digits. Cruz had a team-high 12 points, while Zayas netted 10 points.
Neither team shot well from the free-throw line, however. Roscoe made just 2-of-10 (20 percent), at the line while Manor only converted 5-of-17 (29 percent).
Following the game, Manor Coach Kevin Clifford politely declined to comment.
“It was a good game, very well played on both ends,” Roscoe Coach Becky Ahart said.
She credited her entire team with stepping up to the plate, particularly in light of a rash of recent illness making the rounds among her players, such as nagging things like “the flu, stomach bugs, all kinds of stuff.”
“I’m very proud of them,” Ahart said. “This is the first time since 2003 that we’re headed to the sectionals.”