With only seconds left in double-overtime during a game against Milton, Casey Yarborough ’17 swished a free-throw to give Andover a three-point lead. Following the 3-throw, Andover’s defense smothered Milton’s shooters to secure a 68-65 victory and extend its record to 2-6.
Yarborough, Molly Katarincic ’18 and Co-Captains Emma Kelley ’17 and Sarah Humes ’16 all hit critical shots at various moments throughout the game.
The contest stretched two full overtimes, with Andover prevailing largely because of its players’ high intensity, sharp passes and great energy off the bench.
“The bench did a good job of sustaining energy and cheer, which helped the offense rally,” said Katarincic.
Energized by its thrilling victory, Andover headed into an away game against Governor’s on Tuesday. The team came out strong at the first whistle.
Yarborough said, “We were able to play Governor’s very close until the last few minutes.”
Late in the second half, Governor’s extended its lead to double-digits, eventually handing Andover a 44-34 loss.
Once again, Andover shot well; however, Andover’s post players did not see the ball much throughout the game.
“We need to work on entering the ball into the post because we missed a lot of opportunities there,” said Katarincic.
Andover’s perimeter passing allowed it to get open shots, and its pass-first offense kept it within striking distance of its opponent.
In the second half, Andover’s play wavered on the defensive end. Governor’s capitalized on the resulting open space with multiple open drives to the basket.
Katarincic said, “Our help defense needs to improve a lot because we were getting beaten off of a lot of lay-ups.”
On Wednesday, Andover returned home to play Thayer. The team struggled to counter its opponents strong 3-point shooting, eventually falling 52-66.
Although Andover also contributed a strong performance from behind the arc, Thayer’s stout perimeter defense ultimately led to Andover’s loss. In the game, Kelley, Yarborough, Antonia Tammaro ’17 and Bailey Colon ’18 all hit shots from behind the arc. The strength of the Thayer defense, however, gave the team a 16-point cushion.
After struggling early offensively, Andover’s movement on and off ball was strong in the second half.
“[Our offense] was good. We swung the ball and got it into the posts,” said Kelley.
Many players contributed big minutes off of the bench, working hard around the basket.
“We improved on a lot of aspects of our playing such as offensive rebounds, passing into the posts, and driving to the basket to draw fouls,” said Kaela Olsen ’18.
Despite the team’s best efforts, Thayer’s 3-point shooting ultimately proved to be too difficult to overcome.
Andover will look to reenergize before playing Deerfield on Saturday.
Editor’s Note: Emma Kelley is an Associate Features Editor for The Phillipian.
