As Mackenzie Livingston begins her second season as the Latrobe girls basketball coach, she said she is pleased with the girls’ efforts in the preseason.
“The girls have devoted so many hours this summer and fall, I have been very pleased,” said Coach Mack, who saw the team finish 11-12, 6-6 in section 3-5A last season. The girls now move to section 2-5A to compete against Penn Trafford, the conference favorite, Mckeesport, Indiana, Greensburg Salem, Kiski Area, and Greensburg Salem.
With preseason starting just weeks after the last season ended, the girls are focused on achieving another year of success. “We did a fall and summer league at Indiana so we have been doing a lot of conditioning, strength training, and shooting in the off-season,” Coach Mack said.
Before regrouping to get ready for this season, the team had to say goodbye to five seniors. The biggest losses were Belle Blossey and Elle Snyder, who is playing D1 at Evansville this year.
“I have a lot of girls, especially our seniors Brylee Bodnar, Kenzie Johnson, and Carley Berk stepping up and they are going to take over those roles,” said Livingston. All three seniors earned Captain titles this season.
Senior Captain, Carley Berk, is the only returning starter for the Wildcats this season. The returning lettermen include senior guard Brylee Bodnar, junior shooting guard Brianna Havrilla, and sophomore forward Maggie Maiers.
“We lost really good seniors last year but I know the seniors, juniors, and even some of the sophomores have really stepped up,” said Coach Mack.
Livingston also expects junior forward Miley Williams, sophomore point guard Emry Bridge, junior guard Lindsey Gaskey, and freshman guard Sophia Drnjevich to make an impact on the team this season.
As the team moves to section 2-5A they have been working harder than ever to hopefully compete for a playoff spot this season. “I motivate them by telling them other teams are working right now and if we want to be in that category for WPIALs and playoffs, we have to put in the same amount of work,” Coach Mack said.
Junior forward Miley Williams has high hopes for the team this year and agreed with Coach Mack that working hard can bring them success for postseason play. “We have a good group of girls this year who all enjoy spending time together, and we know if we work hard we can do really well in the section this year,” said Williams.
The girls season tip-off will be held on December 1, 2024, at 12:00 pm against Blackhawk at North Allegheny High School.
