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METHUEN — Despite averaging 18.6 points, sophomore Nicole Boudreau wasn’t too pleased with the way she shot the ball in Andover’s first three games. “I’ve been working on my shot a lot,” she said. “I know I’ve been off the first couple of games and haven’t been shooting the best I could. It felt good coming out of the hand. It just never seemed to drop. So I’ve been in the gym working on my shot and today I just felt it.” Boudreau definitely looked like she felt it against Salem yesterday in the first round of the Greater Lawrence Girls Christmas Tournament. She scored 11 points during a 14-1 run to start the game. Boudreau scored 13 points in the first quarter and had 21 for the contest. She helped Andover wallop Salem 73-34 to secure a spot in the semifinals Monday against Methuen. Andover beat the Rangers 75-42 last Thursday. “Salem is aggressive and we knew we had to match their intensity,” Boudreau said. “To come out strong in the first five minutes is what our goal has been. I think that gets us off to a good start and demoralizes the other team.” Boudreau poured in four 3-pointers. “We self-destructed,” Blue Devils coach Liz Briggs said. “Turnovers, boxing out, following shots, hustling, calling transition defense — stuff we can control we did not control tonight.” Andover coach Jim Tildsley said: “That’s the best we’ve played all year on our pressure defense. They just couldn’t get it (up the court).” “We played them already but Rashidat (Agboola) didn’t play a lot in the first half because she was in foul trouble,” said Andover senior Alex Alois, who netted nine points against Salem. “So I’m looking forward to playing her again. I think it will be more challenging with her in the game and I’m excited.” Tildsley added, “Plus, we’re playing on their court, too. So we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Andover 73, Salem 34 Salem (34): Raye 1-0-2, Galvin 3-0-6, Connors 1-2-4, Bujnowski 2-1-5, Vaudreuil 1-0-2, White 3-5-11, Rodriguez 2-0-4, Righini 0-0-0, Forrest 0-0-0. Totals: 13-8-34. Andover (73): Fazio 2-1-6, Gomez-Martinez 4-0-8, Caveney 3-3-11, Scarpa 1-0-3, Biles 3-0-7, J. Alois 1-0-2, Boudreau 7-3-21, A. Alois 4-1-9, Drivas 1-0-2, Bill 1-2-4, McDonald 0-0-0, Maturah 0-0-0, Beasley 0-0-0. Totals: 27-10-73 3-pointers: A — Fazio, Caveney 2, Scarpa. Biles, Boudreau 4 Andover (4-0):    22 8 23 20 — 73 Salem (2-2):     7 7  8 12 — 34

WORCESTER— Andover is the state champion and it made winning the title look easy yesterday.  Sophomore star Nicole Boudreau missed a 3-pointer in the first quarter but Dianna Bill was there to collect the rebound and toss the basketball back to Boudreau who caught it in the same spot and fired up another attempt, which swished in for 3 points. Seconds later, the Andover pressure defense caused East Longmeadow to throw the ball out of bounds. And moments after that, Ally Fazio netted yet another Andover 3-pointer.   The sequence of events was very reminiscent of how the first half went: Andover scored a barrage of 3-pointers and dominated while East Longmeadow struggled to do anything on offense and defense.  The Golden Warriors cruised to a 73-37 victory to win the Division 1 title at the DCU Center.  When the final buzzer sounded, all the players rushed to center court where they celebrated by hugging and falling down to the floor. “I think we played a perfect game,” Boudreau said. “We rebounded. We played defense. We pushed it. We made shots. We knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Well, hopefully not for us now. But it is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we didn’t want to slip through our hands.” It was Andover’s first girls basketball championship since 2003. Coach Jim Tildsley challenged his two top players — Boudreau and Natalie Gomez-Martinez — during practice Thursday.  He told them that they both had played their worst games of the year in a semifinal victory over Mansfield on Tuesday.  “We both agreed with him,” Boudreau said. “We both weren’t happy with our performances against Mansfield. We really didn’t come out to play. It really got us and we wanted to come out here and show everyone that we are the best team in the state.” Gomez-Martinez added: “It just gets me pumped when he says that because I work just that much harder.” Both Boudreau and Gomez-Martinez responded well. Gomez-Martinez poured in a game-high 25 points. Boudreau netted 18, including hitting four 3-pointers. “I tell it like I see it,” Tildsley said. “I said, ‘Now, the two superstars need to step up and they both had great games today. The whole team today was phenomenal.” Gomez-Martinez and Boudreau shined in the first quarter, combining for 14 points to help Andover jump out to a 24-5 lead after one period. Andover netted four 3s in the first quarter, eight in the first half and 12 for the game.  “We live and die by the 3 and today we lived by it,” Boudreau said. Gomez-Martinez, hit one of those 3s in the first quarter and then showed her athleticism with time winding down in that period when she scored a jump shot and then made a steal shortly after and sprinted in for the layup. Gomez-Martinez said she has been hungry for a championship ever since losing in the title game in 2008. She was a freshman that year and the starting point guard. “When I was a young girl I was always thinking about it (winning a state title) but I think when I wanted it the most was freshman year and we lost,” she said. “I think that’s when I was like,  ‘I’m coming back here sophomore, junior and senior year to win it.” As for Boudreau, she said she has been dreaming about winning a title since the third grade when she was in the stands and watched the 2003 Andover team do it. “Since I saw that happen, I wanted one for myself,” she said. Ally Fazio added 12 points by hitting four 3-pointers. Two came in the first quarter.  “Ally’s last three games, every game she got better,” Tildsley said. “It was such a key to have her at the beginning of the game hit those 3s, you could just see it in her face. She had that confidence. She lost it during the middle of the year but she got it back just when we needed it."  Fazio added about winning: "It's the best feeling in the world. Honestly, it is. It's just great. ... I think as a team we matured and took the pressure well."  

WORCESTER— Andover is the state champion and it made winning the title look easy yesterday. 

Sophomore star Nicole Boudreau missed a 3-pointer in the first quarter but Dianna Bill was there to collect the rebound and toss the basketball back to Boudreau who caught it in the same spot and fired up another attempt, which swished in for 3 points. Seconds later, the Andover pressure defense caused East Longmeadow to throw the ball out of bounds. And moments after that, Ally Fazio netted yet another Andover 3-pointer.  

The sequence of events was very reminiscent of how the first half went: Andover scored a barrage of 3-pointers and dominated while East Longmeadow struggled to do anything on offense and defense. 

The Golden Warriors cruised to a 73-37 victory to win the Division 1 title at the DCU Center. 

When the final buzzer sounded, all the players rushed to center court where they celebrated by hugging and falling down to the floor.

“I think we played a perfect game,” Boudreau said. “We rebounded. We played defense. We pushed it. We made shots. We knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Well, hopefully not for us now. But it is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we didn’t want to slip through our hands.”

It was Andover’s first girls basketball championship since 2003.

Coach Jim Tildsley challenged his two top players — Boudreau and Natalie Gomez-Martinez — during practice Thursday. 

He told them that they both had played their worst games of the year in a semifinal victory over Mansfield on Tuesday. 

“We both agreed with him,” Boudreau said. “We both weren’t happy with our performances against Mansfield. We really didn’t come out to play. It really got us and we wanted to come out here and show everyone that we are the best team in the state.”

Gomez-Martinez added: “It just gets me pumped when he says that because I work just that much harder.”

Both Boudreau and Gomez-Martinez responded well. Gomez-Martinez poured in a game-high 25 points. Boudreau netted 18, including hitting four 3-pointers.

“I tell it like I see it,” Tildsley said. “I said, ‘Now, the two superstars need to step up and they both had great games today. The whole team today was phenomenal.”

Gomez-Martinez and Boudreau shined in the first quarter, combining for 14 points to help Andover jump out to a 24-5 lead after one period.

Andover netted four 3s in the first quarter, eight in the first half and 12 for the game. 

“We live and die by the 3 and today we lived by it,” Boudreau said.

Gomez-Martinez, hit one of those 3s in the first quarter and then showed her athleticism with time winding down in that period when she scored a jump shot and then made a steal shortly after and sprinted in for the layup.

Gomez-Martinez said she has been hungry for a championship ever since losing in the title game in 2008. She was a freshman that year and the starting point guard.

“When I was a young girl I was always thinking about it (winning a state title) but I think when I wanted it the most was freshman year and we lost,” she said. “I think that’s when I was like,  ‘I’m coming back here sophomore, junior and senior year to win it.”

As for Boudreau, she said she has been dreaming about winning a title since the third grade when she was in the stands and watched the 2003 Andover team do it.

“Since I saw that happen, I wanted one for myself,” she said.

Ally Fazio added 12 points by hitting four 3-pointers. Two came in the first quarter. 

“Ally’s last three games, every game she got better,” Tildsley said. “It was such a key to have her at the beginning of the game hit those 3s, you could just see it in her face. She had that confidence. She lost it during the middle of the year but she got it back just when we needed it." 

Fazio added about winning: "It's the best feeling in the world. Honestly, it is. It's just great. ... I think as a team we matured and took the pressure well."  

BOSTON — Andover’s Devon Caveney knew her job yesterday was to shot the basketball after seeing that Mansfield was heavily guarding the two top shooters on her team in a Division 1 state semifinal contest.

BOSTON — Round No. 4 goes to Andover. And this was the most important round, on the biggest stage.

METHUEN — Andover showed off its survival skills in dramatic fashion last night in the Division 1 North semifinals at Methuen High School.

Thrown off track just three and a half minutes into the game when star sophomore Nicole Boudreau picked up her third foul and went to the bench for the next 12 1/2 minutes, the Golden Warriors stayed close to aggressive Westford the rest of the half, trailing just 36-33 at intermission.

ANDOVER — Natalie Gomez-Martinez did almost everything in a Division 1 North quarterfinal contest against Masconomet yesterday. 

She scored 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting, poured in 3 of 5 3-pointers, had five assists, four steals and she even retrieved the ball when it got stuck between the rim and the backboard on a 3-point attempt by teammate Devon Caveney.

ANDOVER — After having nine days off, sophomore Nicole Boudreau and the Andover girls basketball team were becoming a bit anxious to get back on the court.

Last night, Boudreau and the Warriors (20-3) took out their anxiety on short-handed Methuen, romping to a 79-44 Division 1 North first-round victory.

Sophomore Nicole Boudreau had quite a performance in yesterday's 56-50 win over Peabody, at the St. Mary's (Lynn) tourney.  The sophomore guard scored 20 and pulled down an impressive 20 rebounds (18 defensive).  She also scored three 3-pointers and registered four steals.

Andover earned a share of of the MVC Large title with Central Catholic with a 58-50 win over Billerica. Nicole Boudreau had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Natalie Gomez-Martinez added 14 points for the Golden Warriors. Coach Jim Tildsley said Andover has won or shared five straight titles.