By Chris Metcalf for the Hornell Sun, photos courtesy Lindsey Meys Photography
LIVONIA – There was no hiding the disappointment from the Hornell girl’s basketball team Tuesday night.
Fresh off their victory over a tough Cal-Mum squad last week, Hornell came into the Tom Downey Gymnasium with high expectations to take down the Lady Bulldogs.
Wasn’t happening.
Too many turnovers, mental mistakes and missed opportunities led to the 60-43 setback in Livingston Conference D-I action.
Livonia improved to 10-1 overall on the season and 2-0 in the division while Hornell slipped to 5-4 and 1-1 in the division.
The game started out right for Hornell as Lili Hoyt hit an opening three-pointer to put the Lady Raiders up early as Livonia guard Libby Kwak nailed a pair of three’s in the first period.
That’s when the turnovers started to come against the Livonia press, creating some chaos in the backcourt.
“I really feel like we lost this game in the first quarter,” HHS coach Brian Dyring said. “We had some early defensive breakdowns and allowed Libby Kwak to get eight quick points and we got outscored 18-6 that quarter and could never get ourselves back into the game.”
Hornell would cut the deficit to single digits in the third period but could never seem to get over the hump, even with Livonia’s top scorer Kylie Buckley on the bench in foul trouble.
Hornell would get outscored 17-9 in the third.
“Too many turnovers hurt us,” coach Dyring added. “Against a quality team like Livonia you can’t turn it over 24 times and be competitive. We have a lot to clean up and a lot to learn from this game. We got to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and get ready for Wellsville.”
Selena Maldonado led Hornell with 10 points and six steals while Hoyt finished with nine points, all coming behind the arc.
Raegan Evingham added seven points and four rebounds while Payton Bentley netted six points with four boards.
Maddie Moore secured four points with nine rebounds while Jordyn Dyring finished with four points and four caroms. Parker Graham added three points for Hornell.
Lindsey Meys Photography photos:
