By Rob Potter
ROSCOE — January 18, 2011 — A strong first half carried the Livingston Manor Lady Wildcats to victory over Margaretville on Saturday afternoon in an opening round game of the Livingston Manor/Roscoe Mid-Winter Girls’ Basketball Tournament held at Roscoe Central School.
After taking an 18-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, Manor outscored Margaretville 16-1 in the second period to hold a 34-12 advantage at halftime.
Manor (7-2 ) continued to build upon its lead in the second half to record a 63-25 win.
In the first quarter, Manor took a double-digit lead at 14-2 when Marissa Diescher made a 3-point shot at the 4:24 mark.
But Margaretville quickly responded to cut into the home team’s lead. Nearly a minute after Sara Batka scored, teammate Amy Filupet hit a 3-pointer to make it a 14-7 game with 3:18 remaining.
Margaretville’s Olivia Todd scored with 2:56 on the clock to cut her team’s deficit to five points at 14-9.
But baskets by Kiera Browne and Monay Allen pushed Manor’s lead to 18-9 with just under two minutes left in the quarter.
With 7:30 remaining in the second period, Margaretville’s Danielle Hull made a free throw to make the score 18-12.
But Manor outscored Margaretville 16-0 during the rest of the period to take a 22-point halftime lead.
Diescher led Manor with a game-high 22 points. Browne had 11 points, while Allen and Samantha Scott each scored six points.
“Our defense played well, especially early on,” Manor Coach Kevin Clifford said. “We used our balance and depth as everybody got into the game. It was a nice, well-rounded effort by all of the players.”
Filupet and Todd were the top scorers for Margaretville (4-7), a Section IV Class D team.
“They have a very good team,” Margaretville Coach Kyle Holden said of Manor. “We knew coming into the game that it would be tough rebounding against them because they are bigger than we are.
“I am proud of our girls,” he added. “They kept playing hard and didn’t give up.”
Notes: Manor, which has five Roscoe Central School players on the team, wore Roscoe uniforms because the game was played at RCS.
The tournament will continue this Saturday, Jan. 22. In the 1 p.m. consolation game, Chapel Field will play Margaretville. At 2:30 p.m., Manor will meet Tri-Valley in the championship game.
All proceeds from the tournament benefit 13-year-old Heather Mustavs and her family. Mustavs, who is an eighth-grade student at RCS, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in October.
The Roscoe PTA held a 50/50 raffle and a second raffle which featured prizes donated by several Livingston Manor and Roscoe businesses.
In addition, members of the RCS Class of 2015, which is Mustavs’ class, sold orange T-shirts to raise money. The color orange is used to symbolize the Leukemia Research Foundation and its efforts to battle the disease. Members of the Manor team wore orange socks and many of the coaches and fans wore orange clothing and/or orange ribbons to support the cause.
“We have raised over $1,000 in donations today,” Roscoe Athletic Director Fred Ahart announced to the crowd following the Margaretville vs. Manor game. “Thank you all for your generosity.”
The committee which organized the tournament included Becky Ackerly, Patti Casey, Dawn Dorcas, Jackie France and Patti Lambrigger. Those who assisted the committee members included Becky Ahart, Donna Baker, Kevin Clifford, Jessica Gonzalez and Laurie Keuhn.
“We raised over $1,000 today and hopefully we can raise that much or even more next Saturday,” said France, who is a cancer survivor of nearly 22 years. “The Livingston Manor and Roscoe communities really join together to help when someone is in need. They are all awesome people.”
Prior to the Margaretville vs. Manor game, the members of the Manor team presented Mustavs with a basketball signed by the players and coaches as well as the coaches and players on the junior varsity and modified teams, which include players from both the Livingston Manor and Roscoe school districts.