RallyNorth.net

Boudreau, Andover sink Somerville in quarters

Thursday, February, 26 By Conor Clancy
Correspondent

ANDOVER — Winning ugly is better than losing pretty.

Though admittedly not its best effort of the season, the Andover Golden Warriors persevered through a tough night shooting in the first half to advance past the Highlanders of Somerville in the Div. 1 North quarterfinals 56-41.

A swarming full court press and the long range of freshman sniper Nicole Boudreau (7 three-pointers, 21 points) was more than enough to make up for an Andover team that shot only 29% (9-31) in the first half.

“We absolutely struggled shooting tonight,” said coach Jim Tildsley. “ But the girls really stuck with the game plan, continued to play hard and then the press really worked to our advantage in the second half.”

Despite being at a clear height disadvantage with Somerville sporting several girls well over six feet, Andover came out strong in both the first and second quarters by using speed and quick ball movement around the perimeter to generate open looks for Boudreau.

Essential to the early success was the play of point guard Natalie Gomez-Martinez (13 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals). Gomez-Martinez opened the game with 5 quick points and several assists as Andover twice seemed to pull away. However it was at the mid-point in each quarter that the Golden Warriors began to struggle as Somerville eventually took a 20-18 lead with just over a minute remaining until halftime.

The turning point for Andover came in that last minute as it’s press forced two quick turnovers, and set up back-to-back three-pointers from Boudreau, the second of which coming at the halftime buzzer.

“After those last 45 seconds of the first half I told the girls that we would stay in the press from now on and I really think it rattled [Somerville] while giving us the confidence we needed to shoot and play a little better,” said Tildsley.

The second half was dominated by Andover, lead by the defensive pressure of guards Ally Fazio (5 points, 2 steals), Marisa Cataldo (7 points, 1 steal) and Gomez. By nights end Andover had nine steals and forced 23 turnovers.

“We are a small team so we have to rely on our quickness, Natalie [Gomez-Martinez] does a great job on whoever she’s guarding and I don’t think there’s anyone better playing on-the-ball defense than Marisa [Cataldo].”

If the defensive pressure was what got Andover the lead, it was Boudreau who broke the game wide open. Any point Somerville looked to make a run, Boudreau was there to knock down another three.

“It wasn’t just me, the girls up front played outstanding against their bigs and we knew with the zone defense they played we needed to move the ball,” said Boudreau. “ It’s just great having a point guard like Natalie, it takes so much pressure off”

“This is where we wanted to be,” said Gomez-Martinez. “We are all really excited and looking forward to possibly playing Lowell.”

The Golden Warriors will play the winner of Lowell and Lexington in the semi-finals. Lowell has beaten Andover twice this season.