RallyNorth.net

Cold shooting dooms North Andover

Sunday, March, 04 By Jeff Hamrick

LAWRENCE – The North Andover girls lost their touch on the worst day possible.

The fifth-seeded Scarlet Knights tied their lowest point total of the season yesterday, dropping a 51-38 decision to No. 13-seed Concord-Carlisle in the Division 2 North quarterfinals.

For the game, North Andover shot a measly 22.2 percent from the floor (14-63) and made only six field goals in the crucial second half.

“Once our shots aren’t going in, that rim gets smaller and smaller,” North Andover coach Sue Breen said. “But I give (the Patriots) credit. I think we worked hard. We played very hard. It wasn’t for lack of effort. We just had a bad-shooting day.”

The Scarlet Knights, who had won eight of nine after opening the season 6-6, fell behind by 10 early in the second quarter and suffered through a stretch of almost 8 minutes without a field goal. But they battled back behind the 3-point shooting of Jillian Madden and Morgan Lumb to force a tie at 22 with 56 second left in the second.

Concord-Carlisle, however, was as hot from the field as North Andover was cold.

After shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half, the Patriots (9-11) kept up the same pace after intermission. And when they weren’t converting from the field, they were equally effective from the line, making 12 of 18 in the fourth, busting open a seven-point lead.

“It was like once we got it 22-22 we were going to be OK, but we just couldn’t buy a basket in the second half,” Breen said of her team’s 18.8 percent shooting after intermission. “(Concord) made great plays and shot the lights out, so give them a lot of credit.”

North Andover, which lost in the quarterfinals for the third time in four years, outplayed the visitors in many areas. The Scarlet Knight forced 26 turnovers, but converted only seven field goals on the ensuing possessions. They also were strong on the boards with 13 offensive rebounds, but again managed only two field goals on those extra possessions.

“We did so many good things,” Breen said. “We just couldn’t catch a break. We’d force a turnover and then not get a layup out of it. We just had a lot of trouble.”

Lumb finished with 23 points and scored 45 with six treys in North Andover’s two postseason games.