Andover Girls Basketball Overwhelms Lahser, 66-29

BLOOMFIELD HILLS – The girls basketball team was all smiles Thursday night.

On the road, the Andover Barons overwhelmed city rival Lahser, 66-29. Andover turned the game into a rout after halftime with some lights-out shooting from Rachel Rea and strong defensive pressure.

Rea hit two 3-pointers in the first 90 seconds of the third and scored 12 of her game-high 25 points in the quarter. Her scoring burst helped Andover (9-1; 7-1 Oakland Activities Association Blue) extend a 22-point halftime lead to 43.

Shannon Wilson hit a 3-pointer with 2:56 left in the quarter to force a running clock at 58-17.

“We knew coming in there would be a lot of emotion; it’s a rivalry game,” Andover coach Jeff Rubin said. “I was very proud of our girls. We came in, no nonsense, and took care of business.”

The young Lahser Knights squad just couldn’t keep up. Lahser (3-8, 3-6 OAA Blue) has six sophomores on the team this season and coach Bob Brydges doesn’t have a single senior in his starting lineup. 

Andover limited Suzanne Miller, the Knights' best offensive player, to zero points.

“They came out with a great game plan,” Brydges said. “They took out my best player (Miller), really took her out of it, and held her scoreless. They shot the ball great, too.”

Brydges’ team went down 11-0 in the first four minutes. Wilson set the tempo early with four points and two steals.

Shailynn Brown helped stop the bleeding. The sophomore gave Lahser a spark off the bench, scoring three straight baskets to cut Andover’s lead to six points.

“We came back and cut it down to 14-8 and then they went on another run on us,” Brydges said. “Being young, my team hasn’t been through that a whole lot.”

Before the end of the first, Andover had its lead back to 10, but it saved its best for the third. The Barons outscored the Knights 21-0 in the quarter.

“We came out of the locker room with a little higher hopes than that,” Brydges said. “They came out and still pressed us the whole time and really put it to us. It’s a good learning experience, if you don’t play up to their level you’re going to get beat like that.”

Wilson finished the game with 15 points and six steals. Lexi Sinclair also was in double-digits with 10 points. Brown led Lahser with 14 points.

Brydges said his team would use the game as a learning experience.

“The girls work hard and they are learning,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about right now. If you can take something away from this, it’s going to help us down the road.”