Co-Captain Leila Boesch-Powers ’24 is one of two Captains for Andover Girls Basketball.
Co-Captain Valeria Ha ’24 looks for an open player.
Andover Girls Basketball’s current record is 1-3.
Saturday 12/9 – Andover: 35, Loomis Chaffee: 61
Wednesday 12/13 – Andover 35, St. George’s: 54
Andover Girls Basketball fell to Loomis Chaffee (Loomis) in its home opener this past Saturday. Following the defeat, on Wednesday, Andover fell short again against St. George’s. The team’s record now stands at 1-3.
Cuyler Sparks ’27 noted that in the game against Loomis, Andover was at a disadvantage when it came to the height of the players. Despite this, the team was able to adapt while also maintaining its positive energy.
Sparks said, “It was our first time playing against tall players and big guards. We did a good job adjusting, even though it was a bit difficult since we are on the smaller side. But we kept the energy and played good defense.”
Andover has played just four games out of its 24 regular season games. Sparks emphasized the importance of building momentum early on in the season.
“Every day, before a game, our main goal is to build confidence. We do a lot of shooting and running our transition offense. We work on transition plays and press breaks and we just work to get us ready for the game ahead,” said Sparks.
Commenting on the team’s loss to St. George’s on Wednesday, Alani Rodriguez ’27 emphasized the improvement that the team made as the game progressed, but mentioned the importance of the team starting off games stronger.
“The team played well, took a tough loss today, but we definitely played very intense in the second half. Second-half energy was what we needed in the first half, but it’s definitely something to work on,” said Rodriguez.
Ruby Kokinos ’26 shared similar sentiments, noting that the team is looking at these games as a learning experience for the rest of the season. In the future, Andover is focused on keeping the same level of intensity from the beginning of a game to the end.
“A lot of the focus is on what we can learn from these past games. Mostly, starting off strong and executing on our plays. It is the start of the season, so it is important for those to be put in,” said Kokinos.
According to Sparks, despite the slow start, the team was able to put points on the scoreboard, in large part, due to Sophie Dandawa ’25’s performance during the second half. Sparks shared that Dandawa’s high level play greatly aided the team.
Sparks said, “I would say that for St. George’s, Sophie, our small forward/shooting guard, got us back into the game. She played really good defense, got a lot of steals, and led our transition offense to help us mount a comeback in the second half despite being down.”
When asked about how the team plans on recovering, Sparks noted the importance of studying film from the past games, so that it can be applied to future ones. With it being early on in the season, Sparks shared that it will take time to get to know one another on the court, but as long as the team stays committed to working hard, it will improve.
“[To bounce back] watching a lot of film, learning from it, applying it, and getting better from it is important. We pride ourselves in working harder than the other team and continuing to work hard on defense, and everything else will come with it. As long as we keep moving forward and getting better, I am not really worried, as we are still getting to know each other on the team,” said Sparks.
Andover will compete in the Groton School/Lawrence Academy Holiday Tournament this weekend.
