Defense propels Andover girls basketball to undefeated season entering state tournament
It’s easy to assume the Andover girls basketball team has achieved its undefeated record entering this week’s state basketball tournament by simply being an offensive juggernaut.
The Trojans have the firepower to match anyone in the state, led by a pair of Division I-bound seniors and a host of talented underclassmen.
But in pursuit of the program’s first state championship, Andover (22-0) is focused entirely on its defense entering the Class 5A state tournament with an opening-round game against Blue Valley Southwest (12-10) at 2 p.m. Thursday at White Auditorium in Emporia.
“Defense is what we have been priding ourselves on all year,” Andover coach Hannah Alexander said. “We take pride in being able to shut teams down and our goal is to get three straight stops. That’s something we’ve been taken advantage of a lot this year.”
Only two opponents have cracked 40 points against Andover and both of those came in double-digit wins by the Trojans, who are smothering opponents to an average of 27.4 points per game.
It’s so hard to score on Andover because of the size, length and athleticism up and down the lineup, particularly with the versatility of 6-foot-2 senior Alana Shetlar (Oral Roberts signee) and 6-foot-1 junior Aliyah Green. Throw in the speed of guards like Brooke Walker (Utah signee), Katie Evans, Amelya Vance, Bella Bouddhara, Brodie Christensen and Aneila Williams and it’s not easy to run sets against the Trojans.
“Our offense definitely blossoms through our defense,” Alexander said. “We like to get steals, push the tempo and get out and run and use our athleticism. If our defense is on, it just really helps our offensive game.”
Even if Andover doesn’t turn defense into offense, the team is plenty capable of generating its own scoring with three of the most talented scorers in the state. Walker is regarded as one of the best players in Kansas and is averaging 12.9 points and 4.1 assists, while Green (13.1 points, 8.6 rebounds) regularly overwhelms opponents inside and Shetlar (10.2 points, 5.6 rebounds) can score at all three levels.
Vance always has her finger on the pulse of the offense, Evans is the sharpshooter, Bouddhara brings immediate scoring punch whenever she’s on the court and Christensen and Williams provide energy off the bench.
Since Andover has played in just two games decided by single-digits this season, it’s fair to wonder about if the team has faced enough adversity ahead of the state tournament. But what gives Alexander confidence is how the team handled Walker’s absence due to injury from the mid-season tournament and showed the the Trojans are far more than just a one-player team.
“Our girls really stepped up to the challenge,” Alexander said. “Everyone elevated their games and shared the ball. It wasn’t one or two people who filled Brooke’s role. We had everybody step up for us in that tournament and it was so awesome to see. We saw some things out of our girls that we hadn’t seen before. We tried some different lineups and I was really pleased with how everyone played. I think that experience is really going to help us this week.”
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