Andover: 58, Deerfield: 18
Andover: 63, St. Paul’s: 29
Adding two more wins to its record, Girls Basketball (11-5) continued to dominate the court, overwhelming Deerfield with a decisive 58-18 victory that carried momentum into Wednesday’s St. Paul’s matchup, where the team secured another win with a score of 63-29. These decisive outcomes showcase Andover’s intense play style, as the team controlled the pace of the game from the first whistle to the last.
Making necessary preparations before any game is essential. Chloe Abou-Ezzi ’27 emphasized that their practices didn’t include any special formations or new footwork as they trained with their regular routines to ensure consistent play against their opponents.
“We prepared how we always do. We just worked on playing hard during practice, making sure we know all of our plays and remember them like the back of our hand. We also worked on our defense and just getting it down and knowing where to go if something happens,” said Abou-Ezzi.
A strong drive for victory separates a great team from a good team. With their coach’s help, players bring team spirit to a new level by hyping each other up before a game. Vera Pape ’29 detailed how this positive attitude defined the team’s mindset through its performance against Deerfield.
“Before every game, the coach gives us a speech about what to be ready for. So everyone was pretty excited and pretty hyped before the game, because we really wanted to win,” said Pape.
It’s common to enter a game with expectations and goals, and Girls Basketball knew how it hoped to perform against Deerfield. According to Abou-Ezzi, the team achieved their objectives with perfection, showcasing their talent and hard work.
“Our goal was to play as hard as we could, as we always do. We know we are a great team, so it was just a matter of making sure that we went into the game expecting a better team. We did not want to expect something worse so that we don’t play down to a lower level,” said Abou-Ezzi.
No game is perfect, and there are always challenges present, even with a victory as the result. Pape highlighted the difficulties faced against Deerfield and how, through these challenges, the team gained the strength to push through and win.
“They were very physical, so a few of us got injured, but we ended up winning. There were a lot of fouls, and some of them were not being called, so that was difficult. The refereeing was good, but because they were fouling so much, it was hard to catch all the fouls,” said Pape.
Framing practices around real game settings can help a team put their game strategy into perspective, as well as focus on technical aspects. Abou-Ezzi described the typical practice schedule that features both actual-game scenarios and form work.
“We start with warm-ups and stretching, we go through a couple of drills on basics, and sometimes we will do layup drills. We do this thing called 11 women or 11 men, which is a mini scrimmaging drill. It’s three on two, and then we go through a couple of breakdown drills. For example, one of our defenses is a zone defense, so it is called 3 on 1, and we do a couple of breakdown drills with that, and then we spend the last 30 minutes scrimmaging and playing against each other and pushing each other,” said Abou-Ezzi.
Standout players in each game contribute greatly to winning results. According to Sophie Stetson ’29, this held true against St. Paul’s, where offensive players were able to showcase impressive performances.
“It was the whole team that brought a bunch of energy, which always helps us win. Laney [Cafua ’27] did a really good job of just setting the tone. She got a couple of first good baskets, and she was cheering and playing hard defense. Jules [Stevenson ’28] also had some good points to get our lead started. We came out slow in the first quarter, so in the second quarter, she did well getting the lead through and helping us to feel more comfortable moving throughout the game,” said Stetson.
Girls Basketball makes an effort to find takeaways from games despite their outcomes. Stetson elaborated on how the team plans to use their performances at Deerfield and St. Paul’s to set the tone for the rest of the season.
“It gives us more confidence moving forward. St. Paul’s was a similar game to Deerfield, and it gave us a break from a lot of our really close, one-point, two-point, three-point games. It gave us a little time to take a break and step back for a second, but we are coming in this Saturday with the number one team, so we are gonna have to channel that energy from our win today and bring it into Saturday,” said Stetson.
Girls Basketball looks forward to playing against Kimball Union Academy (KUA) on the home court this Saturday.
