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By JEFF DEAN Times Leader Sports Correspondent
Monday, January 24, 2000 Page: 1B
College Misericordia starting guards Leslie Livingstone and Colleen
Butcher are freshmen, but they sure aren’t playing like it.
Livingstone is averaging more than seven points, seven rebounds, six
assists and four steals per game.
Butcher is averaging more than 12 points, four rebounds and two assists per
game.
In an 86-46 early season victory over Cedar Crest College, Butcher scored a
game-high 17 points and earned Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Player of the
Week honors. In the same game, Livingstone tied a school record by dishing out
10 assists.
As if that weren’t enough, Livingstone’s totals have her ranked first in
the PAC and sixth in the country (Division III) in assists, and seventh in
steals.
Normally this kind of production would be surprising from a pair of
freshmen, but then Butcher and Livingstone, Wyoming Valley West High School
graduates, aren’t average freshmen.
For one thing, they’ve been best friends on and off the court for five
years. For another, they earned a career’s worth of experience last year by
leading their team to the state high school tournament. And they understand
each other’s game and trust each other to do the right thing at the right
time.
“If I’m running the floor,” said Livingstone, the Cougars’ point guard,
“and I’m in front of everybody, I’ll keep running because I know Colleen will
always be right behind me.”
Butcher agreed, and explained how the connection developed.
“We used to go down to the gym and play pick-up, sometimes just the two of
us. Or sometimes we’d just shoot. Sometimes we’d lift. We played in summer
leagues together, too.
“At this point, we just know each other’s instincts.”
It shows. Livingstone and Butcher have quickly become on-the-floor leaders
of a Cougar team that has started the season 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the PAC.
It’s no wonder Misericordia coach Jeanne Dupree likes to talk the duo up.
“They’re incredible,” Dupree said with a laugh. “We’re starting to call
a lot of Livingstone-Butcher plays.
“They have such trust in each other, and the other players sense that. The
thing about Leslie is that she will get you the ball. No matter where you are,
if you’re open, you’ll get it. Colleen, of course, knows this, so she moves
without the ball. The other players are starting to pick up on that.”
When asked about the source of this success, Dupree, Livingstone and
Butcher are quick to point in the same direction: Valley West coach Rich
Nemetz.
“Valley West has such a good program,” Dupree said. “Leslie and Colleen
think I’m kidding when I tell them their team last year could have probably
beat our team.”
Nemetz isn’t surprised by his former players’ college accomplishments.
Under his tutelage, Livingstone averaged 11 points, six rebounds, five assists
and four steals during her senior year. Butcher averaged 12 points, three
rebounds, four assists and three steals.
“They were always together,” he said. “They’d always pat each other on
the back. And when they go on the court, they let the team know with their
hustle that that’s how everybody is going to play.
“They were very confident players in high school – they always believed in
what they could do – and that has definitely carried over to college.”