Andover Girls Basketball had a packed schedule this past week, playing three competitive games. The team was victorious against Milton on Saturday by a score of 54-30, but fell on Friday and Wednesday to Governor’s and Thayer with scores of 47-52 and 42-66, respectively.
Despite the loss to Governor’s on the road last Friday, the game was not without positives, according to Hannah McGrath ’20.
“The team started out very strong, but became tired out. We were beat on outside shots, but dominated the boards. Although we lost, the team took a big step forward together and it was noticeable on offense,” said McGrath.
Andover failed to put adequate pressure on Governor’s key offensive threats, according to Katherine Marquis ’21 and Claire Brady ’20.
In an email to The Phillipian, Marquis wrote, “We did not play as well as we could have against Governor’s Academy because we needed to shut down their key players but didn’t do it well. One of their players scored at least 20 points from hitting 3-pointers alone.”
Brady said, “On Friday, we ultimately had a tough time shutting them down on defense. Our offense was a little lacking too, but we have gotten better in the last few games.”
Despite a slow start against Milton on Saturday, Andover increased its intensity throughout the game, according to McGrath and Brady.
McGrath said, “The game against Milton started off very slow, but we picked it back up and played with intensity. They could not score on us because of our lock down defense and I believe as a whole we should our full potential as a team. I was happy to see us all come together and for the pieces to fall into place.”
Brady said, “Our game on Saturday against Milton was great. Again we had a tough time starting the game with lots of energy but quickly picked it up and turn the game around with our good half-court defense.”
Similar to its game against Milton, Andover was not mentally prepared for the game on Wednesday and started out slowly against Thayer, according to Marquis and McGrath.
Marquis wrote, “The main reason we lost the game against Thayer was because we were not mentally focused and mentally tough. We heard they have been having a good season and our offense in the first half showed that we didn’t think we were good enough to play our game.”
McGrath said, “Againt Thayer we started off noticeably timid and tired. It was unfortunate because if we played as a whole we could have had a closer match up. I think we need to continue working hard and learning more about each others strengths and weaknesses and thus we will progress more successfully throughout the season.”
Andover Girls Basketball aims to improve on its record of 3-9 when it travels to Deerfield on Saturday.
