RallyNorth.net

HAVERHILL - It was a moment two years in the making. Andover seniors Alyssa Casey and Jillian Webber remember the joy of winning the Division 1 North championship two years ago, and wanted more than anything to feel that pride again. That mentality only amplified when an injury-riddled 2015-16 season resulted in the Golden Warriors going a dismal 5-15. "After last season's struggles, we said as a team that we were going to non-stop work," said Webber. "Summer, fall, up through the winter and throughout the practices during the winter, we were going to work as hard as we possible could to get ready for the season." All that work came down to Saturday afternoon. In front of a stuffed crowd at Whittier Tech, with people standing baseline-to-baseline, No. 1 Andover made its return to the Division 1 North championship game against No. 3 Woburn. In their final chance to make it back to the TD Garden, Webber and Casey both were spectacular. Webber led the way with 24 points and hauled in a massive 20 rebounds, and Casey poured in 20 points and had 13 rebounds of her own to lead Andover to a 54-45 victory over the defending North champs. Casey and Webber scored all 25 of Andover's points in the second half. "It doesn't feel real to me yet, like it doesn't feel like it happened," said Casey. "It was all like a blur! My mind was all over the place. I'm just so proud of every single one of my teammates." Webber was better able to put her thoughts into words. "I just looked at Shea Krekorian, Taylor Landry and Gia Bramanti on the bench and said ‘Guys, we just won D1 North! We're going to the Garden,'" said Webber. "All that was going through my head was we did it. "We have worked so hard, and we did it." Saturday was not at all devoid of some excitement. Andover (22-1) only led 44-43 with four minutes left in the fourth. After Webber knocked down 1 of 2 from the line, Casey followed with a huge and-one to make it 48-43 with 2:13 left. Webber added a layup off a press-break to make it 50-43 with 55.7 seconds left, and the Warriors lived at the line the rest of the way. It was actually a 4-0 Woburn lead to start the game, but Andover responded with a 10-0 run and never trailed again. The Warriors led 29-19 at the half, but the Tanners were always able to hang around thanks to the 3-ball. Woburn (20-4) hit five of its eight total 3s in the second half, but Andover dominated the paint all day in tune to a 45-24 rebound advantage. "I told our girls (Woburn) may beat us, but they're never going to out-tough us," said Andover coach E.J. Perry, who got the entire Warrior crowd on its feet for the final seconds. "I'm a football coach. Our girls were going to be ready to play. "When we run our stuff, when we run it well and Jillian and Alyssa get touches, we're tough to beat." Bramanti helped out with six points, all in the first half, and both Landry and Sarah Sullivan each had a bucket for Andover. An unsung hero for the Warriors was freshman starter Krekorian. She smothered Woburn's Marissa Gattuso, a Merriamck commit, to a scoreless first half. Gattuso finished with 10 second half points, but could never get into a rhythm and struggled from the floor. In some rather poetic justice, Andover will be facing South champion Braintree in the state semifinal Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. from the TD Garden. Braintree (20-4) was the No. 7 seed, but rolled through the South in impressive fashion. The Womps beat traditional powers Bishop Feehan and Newton South by 13 and 15 respectively, and then crushed No. 1 Mansfield 72-43 in the South championship. Braintree has won five of the last six South championships, and is the team that eliminated Andover in the state semifinals two years ago. "I'm ready to beat them this year, that's for sure," said Casey.

Andover 54, Woburn 45 Division 1 North Final Woburn (45): Marina Rufo 2 1-2 5, Marissa Gattuso 2 5-6 10, Cassie Palmisano 1 0-0 3, Mya Blazejowski 4 0-0 12, Kelsey Qualey 1 1-2 3, Ashley Pacheco 2 0-0 4, Andrea Schiavone 3 0-1 8, Rachael Donahue 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 7-11 45 Andover (54): Shea Krekorian 0 0-2 0, Taylor Landry 1 0-2 2, Jillian Webber 11 2-4 24, Gia Bramanti 2 1-2 6, Alyssa Casey 8 3-7 20, Megan Zalanskas 0 0-0 0, Sarah Sullivan 1 0-0 2, Aislinn McMahon 0 0-0 0, Alexa Pacy 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 6-17 54 3-pointers: A - Casey, Bramanti; W - Blazejowski 4, Schiavone 2, Palmisano, Gattuso Woburn (20-4): 12  7 14 12 - 45 Andover (22-1): 14 15  9 16 - 54