Ava Davey ’25 navigates her way around a player from Milton Academy.
Andover – 48 Governors – 47
Andover – 48 Milton – 42
Andover – 46 Thayer – 63
Girls Basketball secured two hard-fought victories against Governor’s Academy and Milton Academy on Friday and Saturday, despite falling to Thayer on Wednesday. Although the team faced a loss, their determination and resilience in the close matchups against Governor’s and Milton encouraged them, reminding them of their potential for the remainder of the season.
Though Andover started out the game strong against Governor’s, the team knew each point mattered as the score went back and forth. Eva Jackson ’28 reflected on the last moments of the game, when Cuyler Sparks ’28 shot the game-winner to seal the game, and also shouted out Julianna (Jules) Stevenson ’28 who significantly impacted the game
“It was a really good play. Obviously, it was a game-winner and also built upon so many things we’ve been practicing and working on in practice. It was really good to see that play come together. I also think against Milton, Jules, one of the freshmen, did really well. She was scoring a lot, a lot of good passes, just playing really, really tough out there. She did a lot for our win,” said Jackson.
Co-Captain Sophie Dandawa ’25 shared her thoughts on the game against Milton, highlighting how the team carried the momentum from their win against Governor’s. Andover also was able to jump to a strong start, reflecting the focus and effort the team had put in during practice.
“We won 48-42 against Milton. It was another really good game against a really strong opponent. We beat them last year, so we knew they would come at us pretty hard with their revenge. But ultimately we played together and really well as a team. There was a lot that we took from Governor’s the night before and transferred it to Saturday’s game, which ultimately led to our win,” said Dandawa.
Although the team’s rebounding could have been better throughout both games, Jackson re-emphasized how the team has been working on starting the game strong and carrying the energy throughout the entirety of the game. As the team has drilled in practice, Jackson believes the momentum of the first few quarters can become key to winning.
“We’re very focused right now on always bringing energy throughout all quarters and starting off very strong. Something we’ve been focusing on in practice is coming out strong and getting off on the right foot, starting off strong. If we start off well in the first quarter we have something to build off of for the rest of the game,” said Jackson.
Jackson also praised the leadership of Co-Captains Ava Davey ’25 and Emerson Buckley ’25, recognizing their efforts in guiding the team both on and off the court.
“Our Captains, Ava Davey and Emerson Buckley, have really shown great leadership on and off the court. They’ve really helped bring everyone together. Sophie is on the bench since she’s injured, but she’s always making sure the bench is involved in the game and making sure we always have energy and always supporting her teammates,” said Jackson.
Despite securing two hard-fought wins against Governor’s and Milton, the team struggled to maintain the same energy and deliver a strong start in their game against Thayer. However, Buckley addressed these challenges and shared how the team plans to work on these areas for the remainder of the season.
“Overall, the game against Thayer was not our best, but there is always good and bad to take from games so we’re looking forward to the games coming up to really prove ourselves. Something we’ve been working on all season long that we’re going to continue to work on is coming out strong in the first half. Throughout the season, we’ve had a handful of games where we start off slow and dig ourselves into a hole and then have to crawl back to get the lead.” said Buckley.
Dandawa concluded by outlining some of the team’s major goals for the rest of the season and detailing what they will focus on to achieve them. Having reached the Class A playoffs every year as a member of the team, Dandawa hopes this will finally be the year they secure a playoff victory.
“We want to keep working on rebounding, keep working on defending, transition, coming out strong, getting the energy up before games. It’s a fair goal for us at this point to try to get into the [New England Preparatory School Athletic Council] Class A playoffs. If we continue doing the little things right, hopefully, we’ll get there. We play Deerfield this weekend, which historically has been a really good game for us, so we’re excited to play them again. I’m just looking forward to the NE8 tournament that’s coming up in the next few weeks because that’s going to give us some really good competition against other classes,” said Dandawa.
Girls Basketball will play away against Deerfield this upcoming Saturday.
