Lady Lion basketball dropped a 46-38 decision to district foe Hamshire-Fannett Tuesday in Lion Gym.
Livingston established a 9-6 lead in the first quarter that could have been much more. Poor free throw shooting and unforced turnovers kept the Lady Lions from extending that advantage.
Post Regan Lewis got in foul trouble, with three in the second quarter. Livingston head coach John Papasideris sent her replacement to the scorer’s table, but Lewis picked up a fourth before she could enter.
“The early foul trouble really killed us,” Papasideris said. “Trying to manage bigs with other bigs, and mixing and matching guards at post positions, it is rough whenever you get your post in foul trouble early. We just had to make whatever adjustments we could and keep fighting.”
After being held to just six in the first quarter, the Lady Horns scored 15 and 18 over the next two periods to take a comfortable lead. Hamshire-Fannett was better on the boards and Livingston still had trouble controlling the basketball.
Yet, the home team still had some fight. The fourth period was their best offensively, producing 13 points from four contributors.
“We are tougher and we are gritty, and that is what I want us to get in the mindset of,” Papasideris said. “That takes time to build, and to not be afraid of contact. Basketball is a contact sport, especially on the girls side, I think. If we get over that mental block of, ‘I'm going to get hit and it's probably going to hurt a little bit,’ we are a force. If we keep going in that direction and keep attacking our opponent, fouls are going to come, and we just have to adjust. A good shooting team like (Hamshire-Fannett) is tough.
“Comparing last year and this year is like apples and oranges. Last year through 15 games, we scored around 422 points. This year at that same point, we have scored 502. Comparatively, that is like a three-game difference. My expectations were improvement from last year, and we have succeeded in that. Before this loss, we were looking at 7-8. Last year, in our entire season, we won two games. We are still supporting three squads and that is kind of a juggling act, but the J.V. has improved, and my freshman group is really good.”
Corinne Henderson led the Lady Lions with 18 points, while Lewis had 10 and Taylor Wright had seven.
Livingston has shown that they can play in a few different defensive sets over the year, making them tougher to prepare for. It has provided more fast breaks, while cutting down on their own turnovers. Still, the coach believes District 19-4A will be a challenge. He is short a couple of injured athletes that would command minutes on the court. The girls lost a one-point game to Tarkington to start league play.
“You have Liberty that is fast and aggressive, and you have Hamshire and H-J that can shoot the ball. We have to be more cognizant of getting to positions where we are getting more shots up. I think we have gotten better at getting those open shots that we want. They may not go in all the time, but it is shots that I encourage my girls to take – those open, high-percentage shots. You aren't going to get pulled for taking good, open shots.”
After a tournament in Huntington this weekend, Livingston will return to host Liberty Tuesday.
