TEWKSBURY — A tough start to the season hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm of North Andover coach Jessalyn Deveny. But the Scarlet Knights will need to clean up their offense before making their first-year coach truly happy.
North Andover dropped its second straight, 24-20 to Dual County League member Bedford on Sunday afternoon in the fourth of seven MVC-DCL matchups at Tewsksbury High School.
After pouring in 19 points in the first quarter of the season against Methuen, North Andover has managed only 52 points in the past seven quarters.
“I think we missed a lot of high-percentage shots,” Deveny said about the loss to Bedford. “Sometimes they fall and sometimes they don’t. We’re new to each other. It’s my first year here, and the girls have been working tremendously hard.
“It’s not for lack of work ethic or dedication to the program that we don’t have a win yet. It’s still early for us, and we’re going to continue to come together. We’ll get better as basketball players and better as a team.”
Bedford, which lost the Division 3 North final to Bishop Fenwick last year, held the Knights to one field goal in the opening period while opening a 9-2 advantage. Both teams continued their struggles in a second period that saw the squads combine for eight points on a combined 2-for-15 shooting with 20 turnovers.
“We need to be strong with the ball,” Deveny said. “When you have the ball, slow down and see what you’ve got. Although we have two losses right now, we need to stay positive and look forward to what’s to come.”
An Emma Von Sneidern layup brought the Knights to within one a minute into the second half. The Knights finally tied the game 13-13 when a great down-court pass from Norah Connors hit Katherine Robie in stride for a fast-break layup with 2:38 left in the third.
Turnovers on their final four possessions of the period, however, left the Knights trailing 15-13 entering the last quarter.
But a 3-pointer from the elbow 51 seconds into the fourth by Emma Liporto gave North Andover its first lead at 16-15. A pair of free throws by Norah Connors with 5:10 left gave the Knights their final lead 18-16.
A pull-up jumper by Hannah Whipple with 2:37 left tied the score at 20. But those would be North Andover’s final points as Bedford made four of six free throws down the stretch to secure the victory. Turnovers on their final three possessions once again doomed the Knights.
A strong defensive showing almost made 20 points hold up, though, as North Andover held Bedford to 4-of-21 shooting in the final three periods while the Knights forced 16 turnovers during the same time.
“We’ve gotten so much better since the season started, and it’s still young,” Deveny said. “Our defensive intensity is top notch, getting into the lane and having to make the other team work hard whenever they get the ball. We’re talking and communicating a lot on defense, so defense is a strength for us at this point of time.”
Liporto, who scored a team-high 16 in the 63-51 loss to Methuen, once again paced the Knights with six points. Five other players had at least two.
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Girls Basketball, 12/16/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
