RallyNorth.net

Sat, Dec 22, 2012 02:00 PM @ Andover

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
Lawrence	6	7	11	16	40
Andover	17	17	12	14	60

Andover tries to impress grads

Saturday, December, 22 By Jeff Hamrick

NORTH ANDOVER – It’s not uncommon for basketball teams to play before former teammates and recent graduates home from college for the holidays.

At Andover, however, the most recent crop of Golden Warriors grade on a whole tougher curve than most alumni.

The newest version at Andover, aiming for the school’s fourth straight state championship, opened defense of its Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournament title yesterday with a workman-like 60-40 victory over Lawrence at North Andover High School.

“We’ve been working really hard,” said returning senior starter Devon Caveney, who scored a team-high 17 points. “It’s obviously been a big change (from last year) so we’re just trying to play and get used to each other.”

Yesterday provided a chance to show off in front of recent Andover stars. All-State players and four-year starters Nicole Boudreau and Ally Fazio were sitting with a group directly behind the Andover bench. Throw 2011 graduate Natalie Gomez-Martinez into the mix and you have a tribunal that expect their legacy to be emulated.

“I love when they come back,” Caveney said. “It gives us some motivation to play better. You obviously want to play in front of them. I hope they come to the Central game.”

The Warriors (3-0) set the pace against outmanned Lawrence (0-5), jumping to an 11-point first-quarter lead before opening a 34-13 halftime edge. Eleven Warriors scored at least two points, including Jackie Alois and Colleen Caveney, who both had eight. That kind of balance might make it tough on Andover coach Jim Tildsley to settle on a rotation.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” Tildsley said. “We’re a work in progress, and we’ll get better as the year goes on. I’ve been playing 10 to 11 kids to see what I can get out of them. Right now it’s still a toss-up (outside) my corps … We’ll see who else will be in there. I’m going to play the kids who make the least amount of mistakes. That’s the whole key, and they know that.”

Tildsley may have a long-term project on his hands, but his Warriors will be tested in Friday’s 5:30 p.m. semifinal against Central Catholic.

“It’s felt pretty much like preseason,” Caveney said of Andover’s limited early schedule. “So it hasn’t really been too tough for us yet. But when we play our next game, things will get a lot tougher so, we’re pretty excited.”

Lawrence kept things close in the second half as Genesis Santana scored 15 of her game-high 21 points after intermission.