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Niles, Raiders clamp down on Andover

ANDOVER — Central Catholic's girls were up to the challenge and then some Friday afternoon.

Especially senior Adrianna Niles.

The result was a resounding 49-22 romp over archrival Andover, a team it defeated by just seven points (50-43) just three days earlier.

"We gave up 31 points to (Tatum) Shaw on Tuesday so we challenged the whole team to hold her down this time," said Central coach Casey Grange. "It was a team effort and we got it done."

Indeed , Shaw was held to just three field goals and 11 points and was constantly hounded and got very few looks at the basket while taking 22 shots.

While, it's true that, with switches and occasional doubling, it was a team effort against Shaw, it was Niles who was particularly up to the challenge. She guarded her like a glove in the first half and held her without a field goal.

And of Shaw's four field goals, three came with Niles off the court or switched onto another player.

"You give her (Niles) a challenge and she's up to it," said Grange. "And she's versatile. She guarded (Andover center Anna) Foley the other night before she got hurt."

Said Niles: "She (Shaw) is a good player. We wanted to get her frazzled and off her game. I think we did a pretty good job of it."

With the Raiders focusing on Shaw and contesting every shot, and Foley out with an unspecified knee injury, the Warriors had trouble generating offense the entire game. Amelia Hanscom worked hard for eight points and Hailey Doherty had a 3-pointer but no one else could score.

Niles, meanwhile, led Central's offense with 17 points which, she believes is just one point below her career high. She was 7 of 10 from the floor and had nine points in the third quarter alone.

Impressive freshman Ashley Dinges overcame a slow start to finish with 11 points while Lily Angluin added eight. Overall, while struggling at times with turnovers, the Raiders were an impressive 18 of 37 from the floor.

Central has now defeated Andover four of the last five times in the last year, but the Warriors did win their playoff matchup last year which, said Niles, made the Raider sweep "an added bonus — losing to them in the tournament was tough."

The Raiders scored the first four points of the game and never trailed, taking a tough-to- recover-from 25-10 lead at halftime and leading 39-17 after three quarters.

Andover coach Alan Hibino was disappointed with how his squad responded to the anticipated clampdown on Shaw.

"After her (Shaw's) 31 points, we had to expect that," said Hibino, who isn't sure how long Foley will be out of the Warrior lineup. "Give Central credit. They loaded up and was ready for her. They made the adjustments, we didn't.

"I thought our defense was all right (23 Central turnovers), but we didn't convert from it like we can. We just have to do a better job."