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WORCESTER | The 15 points at halftime were a dead giveaway.

Andover High's bread-and-butter, the long-range jumper, had deserted the Golden Warriors in the biggest game of the year, last night's Division 1 state final with Northampton.

WORCESTER, Mass. | Andover's Ilana Cohen worked hard to keep a smile on her face as she consoled a few of her emotional teammates last night.

"We have to remember that it was still a great run," said the senior. "But this is sure a tough way to see it all end, especially for the seniors."

ANDOVER | Even though it was only two days before the Division 1 state championship, the Andover girls basketball team was still running yesterday.

"If we miss foul shots in practice we have to run a lot," said senior Laura Renfro. "Today, for example, we missed a lot of foul shots, so we had to run."

On different days this week, veteran Northampton girls coach Tom Parent and Andover's Jim Tildsley, who will face each other at the DCU Center in Worcester in the Division 1 state finals at 5:45 p.m. tomorrow, had exactly the same feeling.

Every great shooter goes through slumps from time to time. Before last night, Andover's Meghan Thomann was mired in one.

"It gets kind of frustrating," she said. "I've always been taught to keep shooting. (Coach Jim) Tildsley will kill me if I don't keep shooting. You just have to keep shooting, and they'll fall."

Ilana Cohen wasted no time making her mark.

Normally the sixth man, the senior was rewarded with the start at point guard last night. She responded by knocking down a 3-pointer from the corner to help spark Andover's 12-2 run that opened the game and put the Golden Warriors ahead of New Bedford to stay.

The friendly confines of the TD Banknorth Garden?

That's the way it looked for the Andover High girls basketball team last night as it romped past New Bedford 61-34 in the EMass. finals to advance to Saturday's Division 1 state final at the DCU Center in Worcester (5:45 p.m.). It will face the winner of tonight's Westboro-Northampton game.

Mickey Gonsalves learned a lot from Andover's Jim Loscutoff. The burly ex-Celtic, Gonsalves' coach at Boston State from 1975 to 1977, displayed a surprising duality on the bench.

"He was a gentle man," Gonsalves said. "But if you struck a nerve, wow, he could be intimidating."

LOWELL | "Can you hold this for a second?"

Lauren Hughes smiled and passed the Division 1 North trophy to her sister, Samantha.

Finally, the 5-foot-9 senior forward can give it back to big sis.

Five years after Samantha's three-point play with about a second left gave Andover a Division 1 state championship, the Golden Warriors are on the cusp of an Eastern Massachusetts title. And once again, a Hughes is leading the way.

LOWELL | Even normally vocal Andover forward Camille Fantini was at a loss for words.

“I can’t even describe the feeling,” said the senior. “This is what we have worked towards for four years and it is finally here. Now we have to keep doing our thing.”