Late in the game against Choate, Laura Bilal ’17 drove towards the hoop and threaded a baseline pass to Co-Captain Emma Kelley ’17 for an easy layup. Bilal’s assist drove the Andover advantage to six points with less than five minutes left in the second half, giving Andover Girls Basketball just enough cushion in a 48-41 win over Choate.
Fueled by its early scoring, the team maintained a lead throughout most of the entire game on Saturday. Its constant hustle and focus on both the offensive and defensive ends allowed it to seal the victory.
“We came out strong in the very first minute against Choate. We got an early lead, which gave us confidence throughout the game. We played good help defense and out-rebounded Choate, which was a huge part of our win,” said Co-Captain Sarah Humes ’16. Heading into Saturday’s game, Head Coach Lani Silversides emphasized physical fitness in a variety of the drills implemented in the practices leading up to the game.
Kelley said, “We focused a lot on conditioning, intensifying our defense and perfecting our offense. This definitely led to our success on Saturday.”
“In the end of the game with the clock winding down, we remained calm and grabbed a few clutch, consecutive rebounds that prevented Choate from scoring,” added Kelley.
Following the win against Choate, Andover traveled to Brewster on Wednesday. A lackluster first half performance left little room for error heading into the second half. Despite Kelley’s 22-point-performance, Andover was unable to overcome Brewster and lost 63-45. Andover struggled to communicate on the defensive end, and as a result Brewster moved the ball very well and found open looks.
Molly Katarincic ’18 said, “We can definitely talk more on defense, and doing so will help us get stops. We were never able to shift the momentum of the game in our favor so it was hard to rally behind our offense.”
Kelley said, “We still need to work on our offense and running through our plays during the games. By the end of the game we get tired and give away team fouls which sends the other team to the line.”
Andover had a significant height advantage over Brewster, but was unable to capitalize on it.
“Offensively we did okay, but [we] should have taken more drives and passed it into the post,” said Janneke Evans ’18.
Despite the loss, Andover looks to return to form in its next game against Milton on Saturday to improve its 1-4 record.
Editor’s Note: Laura Bilal is an Associate Sports Editor and Emma Kelley is an Associate Features Editor for The Phillipian.
