BY CHARLES CHANEY
EMPORIA, Kansas — Some people say halftime adjustments aren’t real. Some people say halftime speeches aren’t important.
Don’t tell the Andover girls that.
“Bella [Bouddhara] just said some very motivational words at halftime,” sophomore Sam Siegrist said. ” We all just knew that we needed to play as a team to win this game.”
Sophomore Bella Bouddhara stepped up and gave a halftime speech, firing up her team and Andover came out on top, 49-44, over St. James Academy in the first round of the Class 5A state tournament.
“This is what the season has kind of prepared us,” head coach Hannah Alexander said. “We’ve had some big games throughout the season. We’ve taken a loss, and so we, I feel like we are very resilient, and we don’t give up, and we kind of keep pushing and we dig even deeper.”
The Trojans outscored St. James 33-26 in the second half, on their way to the third consecutive first round victory.
Andover trailed 18-16 at halftime and had gone more than 10 minutes without a bucket and St. James (18-5) had built a 26-20 lead on the back of Riley Kerwin. The senior hit a three the old fashioned way and then hit a traditional one to push the Thunder out in front.
It didn’t last for long.
Aliyah Green finally saw the ball go through the basket and it was off to the races for the Trojans. They would go on a 13-2 run over the next six minutes. They defended, they shot the ball well and they got to the free throw line. One of the many sophomores on the team, Asia’H Sullivan was able to help keep the tide going as she got to the line and hit layups along the way. She scored four points over a span of two minutes, giving the Trojans their first lead since the first quarter with 1:28 to go in the thir quarter.
“We have learned to lean on each other and not quit, play for each other,” Alexander said. “They’re just so wise, and their basketball IQ is phenomenal and just the connection and bond that they have is unreal.”
During this run, it felt as if Bouddhara was finding out her moment. She did more than score points. She found her teammates in transition. She moved without the ball and when her shot came, she wasn’t afraid to shoot it.
Bouddhara hit back-to-back buckets at the start of the fourth, pushing the Trojans out to their largest lead of 35-30. They had to find a way to fend off a tough St. James’ Kerwin. She tried to do it all. She had a steal and a lay up. She hit a big three from the logo late.
The big difference is when they got into the half court set, she had to earn it. Siegrist and others made her work for her points and, while she finished with 20, it felt as if most shots were contested. Even her threes were with a hand up.
That’s when Siegrist stepped up.
After Keriwin tied it at 41-all and Andover had to burn a timeout with 2:24 remaining. The Trojans once again came together and found a way to power through.
“[Coach Alexander] told us this is the adversity that we want,” Bouddhara said. “It’s the adversity we’ve been waiting for all season. We’re really in practice preaching and preparing ourselves for these games. Because sometimes in our games they’re tough so when we get to this moment, this is where our practice pays off.”
It paid off.
Bouddhara got fouled and went to the line right out of the time out. Then, Siegrist hit a corner three that felt like a dagger in the Thunder hearts. Sullivan then on the next possession had a steal, ripping it away from Kriwin and raced down. She missed the contested bucket but it was the help that was the difference. Green had followed Sullivan down the floor and was able to put home the miss.
“That’s the best I’ve ever seen her play,” Alexander said. “We’ve been wanting to get that out of her all season long and she waits until now and it was perfect timing. We know what she’s capable of.”
Siegrist was ready for this moment since the pregame warm up.
“I was very confident going into the game,” she said. “I was hitting most of my shots in warm up, and I knew not get in my head if I messed up or something.”
Bouddhara then drew a charge, sending Elle Robinson out of the game and icing the contest.
“When the moment get big, these girls know how to rise to the occasions,” Alexander said. “It’s doing all the little things. You just have to have that edge. You have to go get get on the floor, get the extra rebounds and passes. We’ve done it so much it’s just become a habit.”
Asia’H Sullivan with the steal and missing on the contested layup. Aliyah Green there to clean it up. Timeout Trojans. Andover up 47-41 with 48.6 seconds remaining.
“The defense is what we try and focus on because that’s what’s going to win us big games,” Alexander said.
Andover shot 31.9 percent in the game but were efficient when it mattered. They were 6 of 11 in the fourth quarter. Andover was led by Bouddhara who finished with 16 points on 4 of 11 shooting. She had four rebounds and two assists. Green had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Trojans. She also had two steals. Sullivan finished with 10 points, three steals and two rebounds. Siegrist had eight points, five in the second half.
St. James was led in scoring by Kerwin who had 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting.
Andover got to the line at a high clip on Wednesday night, going 15 of 23 at the stripe. They were 12 of 16 in the second half.
Andover is two wins away from the state title that’s eluded them the last two years. They’ll get a redemption chance from last year as they’ll play Topeka Seaman, who knocked them off in the semifinals last year.
The Trojans are confident but don’t want to get in a revenge mindset. They just want to play their game.
“We just need to focus on our game,” Siegrist said. “We have to keep our confidence up and keep the same intensity.”
Alexander thinks they have all the pieces to match up well.
“It’s going to be a fun and exciting game,” she said. “We think we have all the pieces. So, for us it’s just another game. Of course, everybody wants revenge, but we can’t look at it like that.
We got to just one more game.”
CLASS 5A GIRLS STATE TOURNAMENT
WL WHITE AUDITORIUM
Emporia, Kansas
Andover 49, St. James Academy 44
St. James 11 7 10 16 – 44
Andover 11 5 15 18 – 49
ST. JAMES (18-5) 44: Kerwin 4-7 3-4 3-3 – 20; Smith 0-0 0-1 0-0 – 0; Robinson 3-9 0-0 0-0 – 6; Sullivan 0-6 0-0 0-0 – 0; Becker 6-12 0-0 0-0 – 12; Reuger 2-2 0-0 2-2 – 6. TOTALS: 15-36 3-5 5-5 – 44.
ANDOVER (22-1) 49: Bouddhara 3-6 1-5 7-10 – 16; Sullivan 2-4 0-3 6-8 – 10; Evans 1-2 1-4 0-0 – 5; Grier 0-2 0-4 0-0 – 0; Siegrist 0-1 2-4 2-2 – 8; Green 5-10 0-1 0-3 – 10; Christensen 0-0 0-1 0-0 – 0. TOTALS: 11-25 4-22 15-23 – 49.
