Sarah Beattie ’07 had a phenomenal week as the Andover Girls Varsity Basketball team lost to Suffield Academy 55-43 on Friday but rebounded, and thanks to Beattie’s efforts, dominated BB&N 61-51 on Wednesday . On Wednesday, Andover faced a formidable Suffield team and was forccd to play its best game to win. The game started off evenly, but a few minutes into the first half, Suffield took a 21-10 lead. Andover quickly retaliated with an 8-0 run to close the deficit. Beattie capitalized on scoring opportunities, displaying aggressive moves to the basket and stealing Suffield passes. In the last three minutes of the half, Suffield scored eight straight points to go into halftime with a 29-18 lead. In the second half, Suffield continued to increase its lead, but Andover made plays to stay in the game. Kristen Macdonald ’07 and Sarah Thomas ’06 made strong rebounds and Beattie and Captain Jackie Price ’06 scored to keep up with Suffield. With less than three minutes left in the game, Andover trailed 54-33. Emily Zinsmeister ’09 scored off a pass from Price, and followed her basket with a great defensive steal. Kara Hollis ’07 played great defense all game, finishing with six steals, a couple of which came in the final minutes. Andover finished the game on a 10-1 run but still lost by 12, 55-43. Beattie led the team with 16 points and six rebounds. Macdonald scored nine, Captain Price scored six, Thomas scored four, Hailee Minor ’08 and Hollis each scored three, and Zinsmeister scored two. Andover avenged its Suffield loss with a huge win over BB&N. The Big Blue dominated the first half. Claire Fox ’06 had a great game and helped Andover break through BB&N’s full court press with strong passes. In the final minutes of the first half, BB&N started to creep its way back into the game, but Captain Price slowed their run with two steals and a three-pointer. At the break, Andover led 25-19. Andover continued to display aggressive offense in the second half, with several drives to the basket. Beattie excelled in the second half, taking the ball to the hoop and scoring repeatedly. Andover maintained its lead with great defense from Kelly Fox ’08 and Minor and stayed comfortably ahead en route to the 61-51 victory. Macdonald led the team with an outstanding 17 points, followed by Beattie with 15, Captain Price with eight, Claire Fox with seven, Minor and Thomas with six, and Kelly Fox with two. In this week’s games, ten Andover players scored, reflecting the Big Blue’s ability to receive contributions from the whole team.
