LYNN — Andover freshman Lexi Linsey missed much of the first half of this season with a broken bone in her hand. On Tuesday at the Tony Conigliaro Memorial Gymnasium, she stepped squarely into the spotlight.
Linsey scored 10 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Golden Warriors upended St. Mary’s, 52-41, to win the top girls division of the Spartan Classic.
“She just took over and made some big shots,” Andover coach Alan Hibino said.
It wasn’t just Linsey’s shooting that got Andover (19-1) over the finish line on Monday, as the Golden Warriors’ defense completely stymied the Spartans (18-3) in the second half.
St. Mary’s managed only two field goals over the final 17-plus minutes of the game, which saw its 11-point lead steadily diminish.
“A lot of credit has to go to my staff. We spent most of the 10 minutes at halftime making changes to handle their press, and the kids went out and executed it,” Hibino said.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the first quarter before the Spartans put together a 12-0 run left by Charleigh Green to open up a 22-11 lead. It was still an 11-point game as the first half wound down when Linsey buried a triple from the left wing. Kallie Martin then made her first basket of the day, a big one when she canned a 35-footer as time expired to cut the lead to 26-21.
Martin came up with another critical three early in the third quarter to start a 10-0 run that Savannah Ross capped with a three to give Andover a 31-28 lead and eventually a 34-32 lead after three.
Sky Watson gave St. Mary’s back the lead with a trey to begin the fourth as the teams settled into a seesaw affair until Linsey took over.
Her layup gave the Golden Warriors a 40-38 lead. She then scored five points in a little under 30 seconds to make it a 45-39 game as Andover closed on a 12-3 run.
