Trailing by two points in the waning seconds, Hailey Lovell PG’19 dribbled down the sideline and got fouled on her game-tying layup attempt. She proceeded to sink her two free throws to send Andover Girls Basketball’s game to overtime against Winsor on December 15 at the Groton Tournament. Andover ultimately lost 47-45 in the overtime period. Andover also lost to Lawrence Academy 52-28 and Phillips Exeter Academy 52-41 earlier in the day.
According to Summer Seward ’21, some of the team’s struggles were related to a lack of team chemistry on the court.
“I think it was a good solid game that we could have won, but little things like not playing together as a whole team contributed to that loss… the team needs to work on playing together, sharing the ball with our top scorers, and having energy on the court,” said Seward.
According to Niya Harris ’21 and Seward, the team also struggled to find the energy it needed to win until it was too late.
On Saturday, Andover defeated Dexter Southfield 57-49. Co-Captain Cassidy Musco ’19 attributed much of the win, and much of the team’s success, to the underclassmen players.
“Hannah Cuff [’21] had a standout game. She has been starting most of the games this season and was the leading scorer against [Southfield]. Even before the break, she played very consistently and stably. She has pretty much just been killing it as of lately. Also, half of our team is made of members from the Class of 2021 and they have been doing a fantastic job coming off the bench and giving our team a spark. Katherine [Marquis ’21] and Niya have been getting more minutes and scoring a lot of points and usually guarding the toughest girls on the court. Also, Summer is back from injury and is an offensive machine. Basically, the underclassmen have been doing an amazing job,” Musco said.
Musco also spoke about a special moment before the game.
“During warmups, [Co-Captain] Rachna [Lewis ’19], who tore her A.C.L. last year, was able to dress in uniform and participate in the pre-game warm-ups. It was just a great moment to see her back on the court. I think seeing her on the court really pumped everyone up before the game,” Musco said.
Andover utilized a full-court press against Southfield, which proved to be crucial, according to Musco.
“This year, [which] we did not do last year, we have started full court pressing right at the start of the game. This press puts the other team on edge right away and elevates the intensity of the game right from the start. It also tires out the other team and forces them to substitute from their bench early on. Against [Southfield], we went up by ten points right away and forced them to change their whole game plan,” said Musco.
Andover lost in a close game to Brewster on Wednesday 60-56, bringing Andover’s record to 2-3.
“We’re all a little bit upset about the loss, especially when it was such a close game. I think the team ran the offense really well, but some of our shots just weren’t falling throughout the whole game. Defense was definitely tough, a lot of fouls were called against us. We did run our half court offense a lot better than we have been, so that was pretty exciting,” said Brooklyn Wirt ’21.
Andover Girls Basketball will play at Governor’s on Friday.
