Lady Lion basketball dug a hole too deep to climb out from Tuesday night versus the Lady Panthers of Liberty. Trailing big in the second half, Livingston eventually lost 42-37.
Down 28-14 in the third quarter, Livingston began a comeback. They closed the gap to within four at 37-33. The Lady Lions hustled to fill passing lanes for steals and giving effort for loose balls. Much of their offense came off defensive turnovers.
“I think the difference was just my girls were in it with a grittier mentality,” Livingston coach John Papasideris said. “We got into foul trouble early with three having two or three fouls before the middle of the second quarter. That kind of hindered us a little bit. Rotations were a little bit off with my starting post not being there and hurt. The girls adjusted and were a little more aggressive. We were chipping away, but silly turnovers got us.”
A low-scoring game in the first quarter at 6-5 was accelerated by Liberty, which would score in double digits each of the remaining three periods.
“Defensively, we came out a lot more aggressive at the half. We made a couple of adjustments. Overall, I think we ended up rebounding better than in past games, the coach said. “We ended up kind of minimizing our turnovers. Boxing out was a huge thing that I stressed for this game. At times, we were better than they were at it. The majority of the time, we weren't, unfortunately. Second-chance shots really killed us. Basketball is one of those things where if one or two things don't go right, it's snowballs quickly. Sometimes there's not enough time left on the clock.”
Sophomore Corinne Henderson led the home team with 16 points, while sophomore Nyriah Johnson and freshman Taylor Wright each had seven.
The Lady Lions are missing two starters and another player who is a key piece on the court.
“I hope to get some of those players back before January,” Papasideris said. “And those games that were close, we will have a better chance of getting over that hump.”
Friday’s difficult hurdle will be in Huffman, taking on the Hargrave Lady Falcons.
