Hanscom, Andover hold off Central Catholic
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Sunday, February, 06
By Hector Longo
Correspondent
LAWRENCE – A year ago, the Central Catholic girls ran the power sweep on Andover, knocking off the Warriors all three times they met, including an overtime slugfest for the MVC Cup Championship.
This Andover High team seems pretty intent on a complete reversal. Sunday night, the Warriors outlasted host Central for the second time this season, 49-47, spoiling the Raiders Senior Night and lassoing sole possession of the 2022 conference title.
“When it came to it, our composure, it was getting close there in the second half but we pulled it out,” said Andover junior Amelia Hanscom. “Our effort, our hustle and overall our intensity, we just stuck together and pulled it out.”
Andover broke to a quick lead, weathered every flurry gritty Central could muster and ultimately did just enough in the fourth quarter to claim the decision.
Victory was by no means easy, the Warriors just found a way behind Hanscom in a rugged fourth quarter that opened with the teams knotted at 36-36.
Hanscom just willed herself into the paint and scored Andover’s first eight points of the fourth, pushing the Warriors to the front at 44-42 with just under two minutes to play.
Free throws, as they were all night (for the game Andover was 19 for 27 while Central was just 5 of 7), proved pivotal the rest of the way.
Anna Foley swished two and so did Marissa Kobelski to push the margin to 48-42 with 1:02 to play.
Raider sophomore Ashley Dinges sliced that margin in half with a traditional 3-point play, setting up a wild final sequence that saw Central get two opportunities to score or even tie (with a 3). But the Raiders were turned away.
“We didn’t convert when we needed to,” said Central coach Casey Grange. “We put ourselves in good positions. We got the stops and the rebounds when we needed them, but we just couldn’t convert on the offensive end.”
Andover finally put it away with a Michaela Buckley free throw with 5.1 seconds to play. Down 4, Central got a layin from Arlenis Veloz at the buzzer to account for the final margin.
“We made one more play than them today, and that’s what you get from the Andover-Central rivalry,” said Hibino.
Hanscom paced the Warriors with 24 points on a night in which she just refused to relent.
“Amelia played great, establishing herself on the block as like an old-school, big guard,” said Hibino. “She just gets to her position and does her thing. She’s tough as nails.”
The paint on this night was her domain.
“I’ve always been a driver. People tell me to shoot, but I really like to drive. I know it’s my best bet, especially when we want to get to the foul line,” said Hanscom. “That’s what I had to do to help get us a win tonight.”
Foley had 13 as the two Andover top guns clicked on 15 of 20 from the line.
Dinges put the Raiders on her shoulders, matching Hanscom with 24, and Claire Finney had eight. Shea Montague canned a pair of big threes as Central rallied from an early deficit that was as large as nine in the second quarter.
SCORE 24
Both teams' leading scorers in Sunday night''s showdown between Central Catholic and Andover, won by the Warriors 49-47, finished with 24 points.
For Central's Ashley Dinges, it was the ninth time this season the sophomore topped the 20-point mark for the Raiders. She is now averaging 22.0 points a game.
But for Andover's Amelia Hanscom, her double dozen represented a career high. The junior, whose previous high this year was 18 points, is now averaging 13.0 points a game on the year.
Game Statistics:
Andover (49): Hailey Doherty 0 1-2 1, Marissa Kobelski 1 2-3 4, Tess Gobiel 1 0-0 2, Michaela Buckley 1 1-2 3, Amelia Hanscom 8 8-12 24, Morgan Shirley 1 0-0 2, Anna Foley 3 7-8 13, Totals 15 19-27 49
Central (47): Arlenis Veloz 1 0-0 2, Claire Finney 3 2-2 8, Shea Montague 2 0-0 6, Ashley Dinges 9 3-5 24, Kerri Finneran 2 0-0 5, Kathleen Smith 1 0-0 2, Totals 18 5-7 47
3-pointers: CC – Montague 2, Dinges 3, Finneran
