LIVINGSTON MANOR — The Lady Yellowjackets punched their Sectional ticket earlier this season when Livingston Manor visited Eldred, but due to their being only two teams in the division, the Lady Wildcats still had a chance to make the postseason when the two ‘D’ schools met up on Monday evening.

As always, it was a very physical matchup between the two teams, but Eldred weathered the early back and forth battle and began building their lead, ultimately defeating their division rivals 49-24 and eliminating the Lady Wildcats from playoff contention.

Livingston Manor opened up the scoring with an early 3-pointer but it was quickly answered by Eldred. The entirety of the first quarter, and much of the second, followed a trend of contested shots and an inability for either side to get out on a run. Late in the first quarter, Eldred built a 10-5 lead, but Livingston Manor closed out the first with a bucket to make it 10-7.

The Lady Wildcats opened the second quarter with another two-point shot to make it 10-9. Eldred netted two free throws to increase the lead back to three before Livingston Manor equalized with a long-range jumper.

From there, Eldred began taking over the game, scoring six straight points and taking an 18-12 lead to force a Livingston Manor timeout.

Eldred finished the quarter on an 8-2 run, taking a 26-14 lead into the break.

From the end of the second quarter and throughout the second half, Eldred was able to take control of the game.

Outscoring Livingston Manor 14-7 gave the Lady Yellowjackets a 40-21 lead that would prove to be insurmountable in the fourth.

Eldred’s offense was led by Olivia Gonzalez, who netted a game-high 15 points. Her scoring was supplemented by Sydney Furler with 10 as well as 10 from Victoria Ryman. Ryman, who started the season on JV, moved up to varsity to add depth to the roster and has made an immediate impact on offense.

Livingston Manor was led by Anastasia Niforatos with eight points and Leah Ladenhauf with seven.

“It was a very intense game in the first half,” Eldred Coach June Hallock said after the win. “In the second half my Yellowjackets took control. We have a few injuries so we had to move up a few JV players, one of them [Ryman] permanently.”

When asked about returning to Sectionals, this time with an undefeated record, Hallock said, “It means a lot to me and my girls. We set our goals and accomplished what we’ve worked so hard for.”

The Lady Wildcats had little time to rest after their contest with Eldred on Monday night as they hosted Seward on Tuesday evening for their senior recognition night. Despite keeping the game closer through three quarters, Seward was able to pull away in the fourth to earn a 41-26 victory.