The AE/MS middle school basketball teams completed the 2014-2015 season with a great deal of excitement and fun.

The girls and the boys White team traveled to Kearsarge. The boys started the night off with great passing. The boys quickly realized they needed to pick up their defense. Solid efforts by Matt Bent and Devin Barton helped the team spark their lead. Once again, the boys found another gear and turned up the heat on Kearsarge. The boys soared to another victory for AE/MS.

The game of the week was the Lady Eagles, which was filled with excitement. The girls jumped out to an early lead. Each team traded baskets in the second and third quarter to keep the game close. At the buzzer, Kearsarge rallied to tie the game. The Lady Eagles showed no quitting and played solid from there on out. In the overtime, Katherine Thompson made a three-pointer to give Andover the win.

Ashland came to town on February 4. The girls took the floor first that night. With leadership roles by Lexi Emeny and Julia Royal, the girls pull head of Ashland by eight points. The game was end-to-end action. With a few key rebounds in the fourth quarter, the team rallied to pull ahead for a win.

The eighth grade boys came ready to play. The first quarter, the boys ran a full-court press on Ashland to gain a lead. With hustle on both ends of the court, the boys were able to pull off a very dominating win over Ashland.

On February 5, the girls and the seventh grade boys played home games against local rivals from Franklin. The girls were full of a lot of excitement from players such as Jordyn Southworth and Ryelle Jenifer working hard on the boards to help the team keep a lead over Franklin. Franklin stormed back in the second half. The Lady Eagles were not done; they played with a lot of heart and held of Franklin for the win.

The boys set the pace of the game with tough defense and fast breaks. The seventh grade boys showed a lot of growth as a team. They put together a complete game of defense to mark the game as a win.

Merrimack Valley came to town on February 10. With them came a lot of excitement to the AE/MS gym. The girls began the night strong, with the first quarter ending with the Lady Eagles down by only one point. In the third quarter, Merrimack Valley pulled away from the Eagles, making a large deficit for the Lady Eagles to climb back out of. In the end, the Eagles did not quit but could not defeat the mighty girl’s team from Merrimack Valley.

The boy’s game was set with an atmosphere you would feel in a championship game. Both teams traded baskets in the first half, neither team wanting to give in to the other. After swapping the lead for most of the game, it came down to the wire. The team played a double overtime set with Merrimack Valley with 23 seconds left on the clock moving ahead by three and not willing to give up the lead. It was a great game played by both sides.

The season ended on very high notes for both boys teams. The boys’ coaches noticed the improvement in the team’s defense and solid offense that pushed them forward to show growth in the team’s abilities on the court. Coaching staff was very impressed with their team’s work ethic in practice to improve their basketball skills.

The girls had a very successful season. They did this with a true team effort. Each member on the team contributed to the team’s season to make it filled with great basketball and fun. With great sportsmanship and hustle, the girl’s team had an enjoyable season to watch.

Both teams finished the season with their traditional challenge game against the parents. This was followed by a potluck dinner and awards ceremony. The games were filled with smiles and fun. The celebration was capped off with awards presented to the teams for completing a season full of growth and success. Way to go, Eagles!

The Andover basketball coaches would like to thank the fabulous parents for all their help in making this another great season for the students.