Andover holds on to take title
Tops Cambridge in Div. 1 North girls final
LOWELL — In a close game throughout, Andover held off a tough Cambridge team at Tsongas Center on Saturday night thanks to some clutch shooting down the stretch.
The sixth-seeded Golden Warriors drilled two fourth quarter threes down the stretch and hit enough free throws to seal the 57-52 victory over No. 5 Cambridge to claim the Division 1 North title.
“Right away to start the third, (Cambridge) took the lead. We just tried to make big plays down the stretch by going inside-out against their zone,” said Andover coach Alan Hibino about his team’s ability to keep composure in the second half.
No shot was bigger than a three-pointer for junior Tatum Shaw with under two minutes to go to put Andover (18-6) in front 5248. From that point, she added three free throws to ice the game away in the final minute.
“We really just had to band together and work as a team,” Shaw said about the clutch play of the Golden Warriors in a close contest. “We all believed we could do it and we really just wanted to win it.”
With a 25-19 deficit at the half, Cambridge (19-5) used a 7-0 run to retake the lead, 26-25, before Andover regained control on an Anna Foley (12 points) layup to go back in front 27-26. The Golden Warriors stretched the lead back out to 34-28 on the first three for the team, by senior Shea Krekorian, after the team missed its first seven attempts from distance.
“It took us a little bit to get adjusted to the bright lights and the atmosphere here,” said Hibino. “At halftime, that was another adjustment. To get out there and get a bunch of shots up.”
Sophomore sensation Sophia Vital stepped up for Cambridge with some incredible passes for an 8-2 run to knot it back up 36-36 before a layup for Brooke Hardock (13 points) made it 38-36 after three. Vital finished with a game-high 21 points and eight assists.
In the first half, freshman Amelia Hanscom stepped up for the Golden Warriors as she scored 13 of her teamhigh 15. She also grabbed two huge offensive rebounds in the final minute to help the Golden Warriors get their first sectional title since 2017.
“(Hanscom) kind of took us on her back early on,” Hibino said. “We just told her to attack, have fun, keep your head up and look for your teammates. She did the rest of it for us.”
Andover will play Bridgewater-Raynham in the Div. 1 state semifinals on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at TD Garden.