Sports

Loomis Girls Win At Buzzer, 50-49

Madeline Gardner hit a three-point shot as time expired to give the Pelicans the win over Andover.

Loomis Chaffee improved to 3-0 Monday night with a 50-49 win over Andover, and it took every second to do it.

Madeline Gardner hit a three-point shot as time expired in a  vindicating come-back win.

Andover went on a 17-6 early, and Loomis found themselves in a whole heading to the locker room down ten at the half, but looked determined to get back into the game in the second.

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"I said to [my team], 'Look, we've been down ten before. We started the last game down ten. We've just got to take it one possession at a time and just dig in, and dig in, and dig in,'" said coach Adrian Stewart.

They dug in, but it didn't appear to be enough. Loomis stopped the bleeding, staying within ten throughout the remainder of the game, but still trailed by six points with 58 seconds left in the game.

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Defensive hustle and Andover mistakes (missed free throws and turnovers) allowed Loomis to get within two with seven seconds left.

Moments later, a missed foul shot let to an outlet pass and the ball ending up in Madeline Gardner's hands well beyond the arch for the game-winning shot as the buzzer sounded.

"Madeline Gardner... I thought we were going to lose her at halftime because she hadn't hit anything," Stewart said. "And then she hits the big one. That's what she does."

While the win wasn't pretty, Stewart's team showed resilience, having to comeback to win for the second game in a row.

"These kids have a lot of heart, a lot of guts. The didn't quit," he said.

Loomis will travel to Milton Academy for the Noble and Greenough Tournament on Fri., Dec. 17.

Loomis 50, Andover 49

Player Pts. Reb. Ast. Stl. Chole Alexander 4 6 2 4 Madeline Gardner 16 2 4 1 Brianna Malanga 8 3 2 0 A'Lece Mark 12 4 1 3 Stephanie Nisbet 5 7 0 0 Taylor Williams 5 3 1 1



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