1st-year Latrobe girls coach stresses defense as key to earning playoff spot

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, January 24, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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It is a point of pride for the first-year coach at Latrobe, and it makes her eyes light up when it shows itself in key moments, when it is executed properly.

“It” is defense. And Latrobe girls basketball coach Mackenzie Livingston teaches it, preaches it and demonstrates it.

She thinks the Wildcats can have that “it” factor on the defensive end of the floor.

“Defense is on you,” she tells her girls. “If you get beat, it’s on you. Take it personally. If someone scores on you, go get them back.”

Latrobe (8-10, 3-5) was allowing 51.2 points, the most in the section, but was scoring 52.1. It held River Valley to 49 points, Indiana to 48, Plum 45, Penn Hills 42 and Albert Gallatin 41.

Livingston’s team responded by moving into the thick of the WPIAL playoff chase in Section 3-5A. It played top dogs Oakland Catholic and McKeesport, the Nos. 1 and 3 teams in the 5A rankings, close before losing late to both.

The Wildcats, who started 2-6, fired off five straight wins to move a game over .500. After a 51-40 loss at Penn-Trafford, they were 3-3 in section and tied with Penn-Trafford for third place.

“I want these girls to run,” Livingston said, giving a nod to a fast-paced offensive approach that piggybacks the defense. “We can play full-court man and speed it up in games. It’s about attitude.”

A four-year assistant at Blairsville before that school merged with Saltsburg to form River Valley, where she coached two more seasons, Livingston wasn’t blessed with the height former coach Mark Burkhardt had on his rosters.

So she had to work with a bevvy of guards, including seniors Elle Snyder and Belle Blossey and junior Carley Berk.

“The seniors helped me get accustomed the team,” Livingston said. “I didn’t have all the girls for fall league, so I have only been coaching them for (11) games. They are still learning to play in my system.”

Berk said the team has taken to the new regime.

“(Livingston) has been holding us more accountable for our mistakes,” Berk said. “I like how she’s hard on us. Our strengths of our team this year have been dealing with adversity and being able to have more bench depth. We take pride in defense because it allows us to get our offense going.”

Livingston said she doesn’t mind if games get “ugly,” as long as Latrobe recovers to pull ahead at the end.

Snyder and Blossey were in charge of getting the ball into the post to players such as Anna Rafferty, Emma Blair and Camille Dominick. Now, they are green-lit scoring threats.

Snyder, who has accepted a preferred walk-on offer to play at Division I Evansville, had 13 double-doubles in her first 15 games. She recently scored her 1,000th point.

“We need three girls to score in double digits if we’re going to win,” Livingston said. “Elle is a guard, but she’s been playing in the post.”

The 5-foot-9 Snyder said she takes pride in rebounding and getting 10-and-10s.

“I am a guard,” she said. “But if I am bigger than their girl, I am going to play in the post.”

Livingston said the players who most remind her of herself when she played are Blossey and Berk because of “their attitude.”

A gym teacher in the district, Livingston was a standout player at Blairsville and played Division II college basketball at IUP and Lock Haven.

“I am getting more used to WPIAL basketball,” she said. “I am used to the (District 6) Heritage Conference. It’s taken me a while to adjust.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Latrobe