Sports

New Talent Adds Depth; Team Sets Sights on the Playoffs

Andover Girls Basketball showed potential for a promising season, beating York 33-31 but losing to Worcester 26-38 in two scrimmages on Wednesday.

“It was good to kick off the season with a win, even if it was just as scrimmage. We showed a lot of potential, and we can still do even better,” said Katie Kreider ’14. “It was great to see everybody get into the game and start playing in game situations again.”

During the game against Worcester, many missed Andover shots and Worcester fast breaks led to the lopsided score.

Post-graduate Giovanna Pickering ’13, a strong new addition to the team, made several fast plays and took shots from the outside to support the team near the end of the scrimmage.

Captain Amanda Simard ’13 will lead the team as it tries to secure a playoff berth. Last year, Andover went 9-12 and barely missed making the final tournament after losing to Exeter at the end of the season.

“This year, the expectations are definitely higher,” said Maggie Brown ’13, a returning player.

Andover welcomes new players Meredith Collins ’14, Victoria Everett ’14, Hannah Guzzi ’14, Ravenne Nasser ’15 and Savannah Mastrangelo ’16. Collins and Everett are both tall and strong forwards, while Mastrangelo plays point guard and is a consistent shooter.

These new players hope to contribute after Andover graduated four starters from last year’s team.

“[Tryouts] were good. The energy on the team has been high from the get-go, which has been awesome,” said Simard.

Coach Lewis Robinson said, “They’re an athletic, hard-working group. It should be a pretty good season.”

At Governor’s Academy on Friday, Andover will hope for a win in its first game of the regular season.