WOBURN – Faced with one more elite scorer to decelerate in a battle of unbeatens Monday afternoon, the Andover women basketball group delivered certainly one of its greatest defensive performances to shut out its common season as IAAOB 27 Comcast Tournament champions.
Star scorer Kate Olenik – coming off a 33-point outing within the tourney’s first spherical – seemed like she was in for one more huge sport for Medfield by beginning off with 4 factors out of the gate. But that’s all of the Golden Warriors (22-0) would enable the senior, utilizing their measurement and athleticism to power others to step up in a 55-44 win over the Warriors (19-1) within the match’s Richard Antonelli bracket.
Marissa Kobelski and Michaela Buckley starred as Olenik’s major defenders, whereas well-rounded performances from Amelia Hanscom (18 factors, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, two steals) and Anna Foley (18 factors, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, three blocks) had been different signature catalysts.
“Defensively, we came out real well,” stated Golden Warriors head coach Alan Hibino. “I thought we left a few points on the board in the first half. … In the second half, we just made a commitment to doing what we do. That meant just executing our stuff offensively and getting stops defensively.”
With a transparent deal with ball motion and dealing their means into the paint as a lot as potential, the Golden Warriors gave Medfield matches making an attempt to decelerate Foley and her arsenal of weapons to move to. Running the offense by means of the 6-foot-3 senior helped Andover grind its technique to a seven-point halftime lead earlier than discovering its true rhythm within the third quarter.
Hanscom – who had simply 4 factors within the first half – kicked into one other gear within the body, scoring eight factors and moved the ball nicely throughout the offense. Whenever Medfield produced misses, the Golden Warriors prolonged possessions with 4 of their 13 offensive rebounds.
Despite 5-for-20 3-point capturing, Medfield nonetheless discovered a technique to keep afloat. Annie Stanton took over as major scorer with 17 hard-fought factors, aided by seven factors every from Izzy Kittredge and Tess Baacke. A four-point swing from Stanton even pulled the resilient Warriors to inside 9 with just below six minutes left, however Hanscom exploded once more inside a 9-0 run to all however seal the win.
An identical combat got here within the second remaining throughout the Comcast Tournament’s doubleheader, solely Wachusett got here a lot nearer to pulling off a serious comeback.
As a part of a traditional back-and-forth between state title contenders, Walpole noticed a cushty, nine-point lead it constructed with beneath two minutes to go almost evaporate when clutch capturing and a full-court press helped the Mountaineers minimize the benefit to a few factors and an opportunity for a tie. But the Timberwolves (18-2) clamped down on the ultimate try and seal a suspenseful, 56-53 win.
“We’ve got to learn how to play in situations like that, I thought they did well,” stated Walpole head coach Dave Wall. “That was a fun game. Not going to get a much better tune-up. … When it’s a couple good teams going at it, no one’s going to quit. My whole thing is, ‘How do you respond, good or bad?’”
For each run Izzy Adams (25 factors, 15 rebounds, three steals) led the Timberwolves on with their typical fast-paced play, Mary Gibbons (22 factors) and Wachusett (18-2) bounced again. Chaos-inducing defenses led to a mixed 35 turnovers and 25 steals, as each groups pushed the tempo and fought off opposing runs.
It appeared that after ending every quarter down by not more than eight factors, Wachusett was lastly spent when the Timberwolves jumped up by 11 factors with lower than three minutes to go. Chloe Bindon (10 factors) and Brooke Walonis (seven factors, seven rebounds) had contributed towards a really deep effort for Walpole, and the Mountaineers had been fading.
But after Rileigh Leary (15 factors) sank a 3-pointer with 23 seconds to go, Emerson Allyn’s steal and fast layup within the full-court press minimize Wachusett’s deficit to 55-51. A Walpole missed free throw helped it cut up that deficit in half simply three seconds later, and one other missed free throw gave the Mountaineers the ball with 10 seconds left in a three-point sport.
The Timberwolves pressured the ball out of major shooter Gibbons’ palms and prevented Leary from getting it, leaving Allyn’s final bid from deep no good to safe one final win earlier than the state match begins.
Source: www.bostonherald.com