With several games under its belt, the Andover Girls Varsity Basketball team has shown tremendous promise for the upcoming season, while also revealing that there is some room for improvement. The season got off to a wonderful start when the Lady Blue got moving on the court during their first game against Brewster, giving the girls their first win of the season by a dominating 50–16 margin. The team’s second victory came against Governor Dummer Academy in early December and proved the Lady Blue are to be an undeniably dominating force this season. The first several minutes of the game saw back and forth play between both teams and the girls matched GDA basket for basket. However the girls of Governor Dummer could not keep it up and PA picked up its game. They entered the second half with a 32-18 advantage. With 18 points, Co-captain Kat Conlon ’04 was the leading scorer. Co-captain Mimi Hanley ’04 and new player Steph Krant ’05 contributed 14 points each, as well as 7 rebounds each. In the second half, PA continued to increase their lead, and the game ended with a 71-45 win. Coach Karen Kennedy commented, “We were happy both with the win and how we responded to that challenge.” Following the long break during exams the team came back with a win against the Harvard JV, at home on DiClemente Court. Once again, the Lady Blue demonstrated wonderful skill as they made basket after basket, led by Conlon and Hanley, with 15 and 13 points, respectively. The game ended with yet another win of 47–39. Feeling prepared but anxious for their next game, PA took on Loomis Chaffee in a challenging away game. The game was tight until the final buzzer. The Loomis team, relying on their strong defense, threw off PA’s offense. The girls struggled to get many rebounds. Additionally, Andover struggled defensively to limit Loomis’ strong offensive work. Nonetheless, PA led at halftime with 29 points over Loomis’ 23, and the girls fought hard throughout the second half to keep expanding their score. With Hanley restricted to the sideline for the majority of the game due to foul trouble, Jessie Daighneault ’04, Nell Beattie ’05, and Laurel Sticklor ’05 broke through with multiple contributions in all aspects of the game – points, rebounds, and steals. Despite showing room for improvement, PA was able to pull through when necessary, and the game ended with a winning score of 55-46 for the Blue. The girls took on New Hampton the very next day and experienced many of the same troubles as they did in the Loomis game. This time, however, in their last game before winter break, the girls were unable to pull their play together and they fell short of a win. Struggling from the beginning of the first half, PA found themselves lacking on defense immediately when New Hampton quickly stole 12 points during the first few minutes. By the end of the first half, however, PA stepped up its game and threatened New Hampton’s hold on the lead. In the second half, PA continued to increase its offensive play, with Hanley leading the team with 17 points in the second half alone. Unfortunately, however, New Hampton put in the extra effort as well, and won the game 41-36. Regarding the team’s focus during the upcoming weeks, Coach Kennedy commented, “In January, we look to assess the last few experiences. We want to learn from those challenges. If we’re attentive to those experiences, we hope that they will make us stronger as we move in to class competition.” Surely, the team will not have much difficulty climbing back into the saddle and grabbing another win, however. Conlon leads the team with 64 points overall, followed by Hanley with 62, and Krant with 46. Hanley also has an awe-inspiring 30 rebounds, following by Krant with 28 and Beattie with 20. Daigneault said of the team, “The girls are so much fun, and it’s nice to be on a team where all the girls get along so well.” Many more wins are expected from the girls in the upcoming season.
