Emerson Buckley ’25 plays forward on the Andover Girls Basketball team.
2/9 – Andover: 36, Dexter Southfield: 84
2/10 – Andover: 40, Pingree: 37
2/14 – Andover: 38, BB&N: 50
On Friday, Andover Girls Basketball lost to a talented Dexter Southfield (Southfield) team. The team bounced back with a hard fought victory against Pingree on Saturday but then fell to BB&N this Wednesday. Its record stands at 7-0-12.
According to Head Coach Jennifer Weissbach, Southfield proved to be a tough opponent for Andover. Although Dexter Southfield took control of the majority of the game, Coach Weissbach praised the effort that Andover sustained until the very end.
Coach Weissbach said, “ Southfield came out strong and set the tone early on. We didn’t start the way we wanted to, but I think our halftime together, we talked about how and where we get our energy from and the team responded in the third quarter really well. I was very proud of how we responded. We ended up closing out the game in a way where I think we left proud of our effort. I am excited to see all the ways in which we have to grow.”
Andover maintained team morale against Pingree on Saturday, despite the hard loss the day before. That energy translated into an offensively and defensively strong game, noted Akari Imai ’25.
“Our energy was really good and especially coming off of our loss on Friday, I feel like our entire team was really locked in and motivated to do well and play hard from the very beginning of the game. The first quarter of the game, I think we did really well with not only our offense, but also we had really good defense and really good energy on the bench and we just all had really high energy and we worked really hard for that win,” said Imai.
Coach Weissbach applauded the team’s transitions against Pingree. In preparation for the game, the players worked on being agile and fast-paced ball movement up the court.
“We’ve been working hard on running in transition, so pushing the ball up the court… I asked the team on Saturday, I said specifically, I want us to run. I want us to run hard. I want us to push the ball up the court every possession and I think we did that beautifully and it was really awesome to watch and be a part of,” said Coach Weissbach.
Anni Juusela ’24 highlighted the shift in morale in Wednesday’s game against BB&N. Although Andover controlled the first quarter, the team fell short. Juusela commended the team’s resilience in the second half.
“It was a tough game today, but we started off strong. We had a good first quarter, and we won the first quarter. But then, in the second quarter, we had a hard time scoring. And then, after the halftime, we came back to the game with different and good energy and we made it into a five-point game again, but we just weren’t able to turn it into a win after the third quarter,” said Juusela.
Juusela continued, noting that Andover struggled to adjust to zone defense that BB&N implemented. Moving forward, she hopes that the team can maintain energy in the face of adversities.
“The opponent played zone defense the whole game, and I think we had some troubles cracking that open. So, that was something that we could have done better. And then just overall on those hard times, just bringing more energy and having the energy that we had when the game was going well,” said Juusela.
Reflecting on the season thus far, the team needs to find consistency in the level of play all four quarters. Coach Weissbach notes the technical preparations that players are going through for upcoming games, for them to sustain high energy for 32 minutes.
Coach Weissbach said, “We are working hard on trying to find a way to compete for all 32 minutes. I think we do a great job of competing in certain moments. We are playing better than others… We have been putting a lot of energy and effort into our defense, to finishing around the rim, knocking down shots in big moments. We have been focusing on the things that we can control, so our free throws, diving on the ground for loose balls, all of those little things, I think, add up and that is how you get that kind of great 32 minutes.”
Girls Basketball will play in the Northeast Eight Conference on Saturday, host St. Paul’s on Monday, and play against Holderness School on Wednesday.
