division 1 girls' state championship
Northampton 50, Andover 37

Northampton controlled the paint at both ends of the floor and forced Andover to rely solely on its outside shooting, which wasn't enough as the Blue Devils emerged with a 50-37 triumph in the Division 1 championship at the DCU Center.

The Warriors connected on eight 3-pointers on the day, but only mustered six other field goals from inside the arc. The Blue Devils bullied their way under the glass and came out with most of the caroms.

Andover's Laura Renfro poured in a game-high 20 points by connecting on six trifectas, but the typically high-octane Warriors only put four players on the scoring ledger overall with no one else in double figures.

Northampton got a game-high 20 points from Alannah Driscoll-Sbar, who seemed to live at the free throw line in the second half (she hit 9 of 10 freebies over the final 16 minutes), while Brighid Courtney chipped in 15 more for the Blue Devils.

Andover briefly cut its deficit to single digits in the fourth quarter, but Northampton scored the game's final four points to seal the triumph.

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4th quarter

Andover carved its deficit to single digits following a 3-pointer by Megan Thomann with under three minutes to play, but Northampton has quickly pushed its advantage back into double digits.

The Blue Devils lead, 48-37, with 1:52 to go.

Another 3-pointer for Laura Renfro, who has six for the game, but the deficit remains 12 for Andover.

Time is running out for Andover and it's simply being outmuscled around the basket (with its outside shooting unable to loosen up the defense inside). The Warriors trail, 44-31, with 4:18 to go.

Megan Thomann connected on a 3-pointer -- he first bucket of the day -- but the deficit remains 12 for the Warriors with 6:11 to play.

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3rd quarter

Andover can't hit with consistency from the perimeter and the Warriors are getting dominated on the glass (both in the defensive and offensive ends of the court) as Northampton takes a 39-25 advantage into the fourth quarter.

The Blue Devils's Alannah Driscoll-Sbar scored the final eight points of the frame (six at the free throw line and the other a buzzer-beating bucket) to pace her squad.

Laura Renfro splashed a pair of trifectas (she now has five on the day and 17 of her team's 25 points), but Northampton is getting to the free throw line and connecting (7 of 8 for the third quarter) and holds a 35-25 advantage with 1:15 to play in the frame.

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2nd quarter

Brighid Courtney and Alannah Driscoll-Sbar combined for 14 first-half points to pace Northampton to a 23-15 halftime advantage over Andover.

The Warriors struggled mightily from the floor and it seemed only Laura Renfro (team-high 11 points, three 3-pointers) really got going. Camille Fantini kicked in the other four points for Andover.

Not a particularly crisp quarter of play in the early going.

Andover got its first bucket in more than seven minutes with a layup by Renfro with 3:51 to play in the half.

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1st quarter

Lauren Renfro struck for two early 3-pointers, but the Andover offense was otherwise cold and Northampton leads, 12-8, after eight minutes of play.

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Starting lineups

Here are the starting lineups for the Division 1 girls' title game:

ANDOVER

3 - Natalie Gomez-Martinez - 5-7 - Fr.
10 - Megan Thomann - 5-7 - Sr.
14 - Lauren Hughes - 5-9 - Sr.
23 - Laura Renfro - 5-7 - Sr.
33 - Camille Fantini - 5-8 - Jr.

Coach: Jim Tildsley

NORTHAMPTON

5 - Iris Santoni - 5-6 - Sr.
12 - Jamie Messer - 5-8 - Sr.
24 - Courtney Brighid - 6-0 - Sr.
25 - Jenny Belle - 5-9 - Jr.
32 - Alannah Driscoll-Sbar - 5-11 - Jr.

Coach: Tom Parent