GRAHAMSVILLE — The Livingston Manor Lady Wildcats visited Tri-Valley on Tuesday night to take on the Lady Bears, but the home team fiercely defended their court.

With Livingston Manor’s addition of Roscoe athletes this year, the team is still working to figure out their team identity and dynamic, and the matchup against the cohesive Bears unit proved difficult as Tri-Valley earned a 53-17 victory over Livingston Manor.

Tri-Valley opened the game with a quick and intense style of play to give them an early lead. Combined with multiple turnovers by LM and offensive rebounds for TV, the Lady Bears were able to take a 19-3 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Livingston Manor was able to pick up their offense a bit in the second quarter, as Anastasia Niforatos sank multiple shots, but Tri-Valley’s offense was able to hold their 16-point lead by halftime, up 28-12.

Tri-Valley’s defense was nearly perfect in the third quarter, allowing just two points to Livingston Manor and using defense to spark their offense as they expanded the lead to 43-14.

By the fourth quarter, Tri-Valley had pulled far enough away as they continued to build upon their lead. Manor struggled to find open shooters and were hesitant to drive through the TV defense towards the rim.

“Manor was scrappy, especially in the first half,” Tri-Valley Coach Jason Closs said. “They came out with a tough defense and played hard and didn’t give up. Ultimately we were able to take control in the second half with our defensive intensity, shut down their shooters and stop their driving ability.”

Livingston Manor Coach Maggi Fitzpatrick said, “It was a tough game, very fast paced and aggressive. The level of play tonight was a bit higher than we are currently at, but we were still able to create openings and make stops on defense.”

Looking forward to the future, Coach Fitzpatrick added, “I’m hoping to grow this new merged group and create a team dynamic that we can test in our upcoming division games.”