Sports

Andover Crushes Choate

Just minutes into the game, Megan Robertson ’11, stole the ball, dribbled down the court, and laid up the easy transition basket, setting the tone for what would be a blowout win for Andover over Choate Rosemary Hall on Saturday. “I think that the game went pretty well for not having played together in a game since break,” said Robertson. “We ran the floor well and worked on passing the ball to an open teammate as opposed to trying to score every time.” Robertson led the team in scoring with ten points, but each player played a role in snagging the 45-23 win. Coach Lani Silversides said, “The best part was that everyone on our team got to play and everyone contributed.” Andover ran with the ball especially well, breaking fast around Choate players to set up for clear shots. In addition to the standout agility and quickness, the team got to the free throw line 23 times and hit 17 of these shots. After its game against Choate, Andover geared up to play Tabor on Wednesday, its toughest competitor yet. Stacked with talent and depth, Tabor was ranked number one in the league, so Andover knew it would have to play to its potential to earn the win. Robertson said before the game, “As far as the Tabor game goes, it will be a tougher game because of their presence in the paint.” Andover anticipated pressure defense from Tabor and planned to focus on fine-tuning its skills before squaring off on Wednesday. Silversides said in preparation for the game, “We plan to do a lot of the little things to remain controlled such as boxing out, team defense, and patience on the offense.” Andover was not at full strength going into the game, as Alex Kiss-Rusk ’12 and Alexis Walker ’12 sat out due to injury. Alayna Garbarino ’10 said, “Missing those players definitely hurt. It got into our heads, so the first half we were all over the place.” Tabor jumped ahead early, forcing Andover to battle back in hopes of regaining the lead. “Once we figured out what Tabor was doing, we came out into the second half a lot stronger,” said Garbarino. Despite a hard effort and constant back-and-forth scoring during the second half of the game, Andover remained behind the fast-paced Tabor until the final buzzer to finish with a 53-42 loss. Looking ahead to this Saturday’s game against Milton Academy, Andover plans to take the court with even more intensity. “Losing this game will motivate us,” said Garbarino, “We will definitely come out strong in these next few games.”