MIAA D1 Final 4: The Ultimate Warrior

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Andover advances to the MIAA D1 State Championship after a convincing 52-36 win over #4 Central Catholic. Andover lived up to its #1 seed by playing suffocating defense and winning the rebounding battle, limiting many scoring opportunities for Central Catholic. The 7, 1st quarter points allowed by Andover set the tone for the rest of the game and will be one of the keys to victory when they face off against #3 Springfield Central for the State Title. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Player of the Game: </strong> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-401766" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/0A75410C-C96D-4765-8876-980C53B0ADC2-scaled-crop-1916x1258-1647524668-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="184004" first="Anna" last="Foley"] - 6’3’’ - PF - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Foley got into a rhythm in the 2nd quarter and dominated from that point. The lefty post got everything she wanted on the block and finished through contact religiously. Foley finished with a game-high 21 points and cleaned up on the offensive glass. Her impact was most noticeable in the third quarter when she subbed out the game. That is when Central Catholic started going on a run because Foley’s intimidating presence was missing on both sides of the ball. Once Foley returned to the action, Andover expanded their lead again and earned a relatively easy trip to the Finals. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Andover Standouts: </strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="184016" first="Amelia" last="Hanscom"] - 5’11’’ - SG/SF - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Hanscom is one of the scariest players to match up against for various reasons. She is a legitimate 5’11’’ strong-built guard who can shoot, post up and be a playmaker from the perimeter. Hanscom did a little bit of everything for Andover Tuesday night and got the team going on offense early with 7 first-quarter points. Showcasing her full arsenal, Hanscom hit a contested 3, bullied her way to the rim for a bucket, and got 2 points underneath on the block. Hanscom was facilitating the offense, showed off her high defensive IQ, and was easily the toughest player on the court. Hanscom isn’t the quickest or most athletic guard but has the elite footwork, strength, and finishing ability to be a highly efficient scorer. She finished 2nd on the team with 13 points. </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="373109" first="Marissa" last="Kobelski"] - 5’10 - SF - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Kobelski quietly chipped in 11 points for Andover and, as usual, played solid defense and ran the floor well. Kobelski made her mark in the third quarter with a couple of baskets in transition that killed Central Catholic’s momentum. She shot the ball confidently and has the height and length to shoot over the top of the defense comfortably. Kobelski also put the ball on the deck and created plays off the bounce. With all the attention on Foley and Hanscom, defenses forget that Kobelski is more than capable of scoring 10-15 points nightly, giving Andover more firepower. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Central Catholic Standouts: </strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269260" first="Ashley" last="Dinges"] - 6’1’’ - SF - ’24</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dinges was plagued by foul trouble in the first half, but I thought her post defense at the beginning of the game was really good on [player_tooltip player_id="184004" first="Anna" last="Foley"]. Overall, I liked Dinges’ activity defensively, and she was a major factor on the perimeter in the 2nd half forcing turnovers. Dinges scored all her team-high 12 points after halftime and, in vintage Dinges fashion, was bombing deep contested threes off the dribble and was a force inside.</span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="379961" first="Arlenis" last="Veloz"] - 5’7’’ - CG - ’22</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">I have known Veloz as a shutdown on-ball defender, but she had her offense going in the first half, which helped Central Catholic stay in the game. With Dinges on the bench, someone had to take over the scoring load, and Veloz did that with vicious left-handed drives and tough finishes. The Andover guards had trouble staying in front of her, and Veloz took advantage of the late help-side defense. </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="269237" first="Sam" last="Guertin"] - 5’6’’ - SG - ’24</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">I thought Guertin came in and gave Central Catholic good energy and scoring punch off the bench. She hit a couple of big threes to help steer the Raiders in the right direction offensively. The threat of Guertin on the floor, opened up driving lanes for the other perimeter players. </span> &nbsp;