ANDOVER — Ella Vidoni knew Friday night’s game versus North Andover was going to be special.
Not only were the Golden Warriors taking on their neighboring rivals in the Scarlet Knights, but it was Senior Night for the Warriors.
For Vidoni, a senior, four years at Andover have been a blast.
“I love Senior Night, we all decorate the locker room, all the girls are amazing,” said Vidoni. “And, with the Jungle coming out tonight, it was great.”
In front of a near capacity crowd, Andover was able to take down North Andover, 33-24, led by Vidoni with a team-high 10 points.
“Tonight was exactly what you expect from an Andover-North Andover game,” said Andover head coach Alan Hibino. “We talked about staying tough mentally, and when things weren’t going exactly the way we wanted, we came together as a team.”
With both sides bringing persistent defense, the Warriors led 8-4 at the end of the first quarter, before the lead grew to 18-9 at halftime.
Returning Eagle-Tribune All-Star Sydney Rogers did all she could for the Scarlet Knights, keeping North Andover in it throughout. She finishing with a game-high 15 points.
“North Andover set a bunch of good screens on us, we knew we had to stop Sydney (Rogers), and overall they have a lot of great players,” said Vidoni. “Holding them to only 24 points was obviously a key factor in us getting the win tonight.”
Rogers and the Knights refused to go down without a fight.
With North Andover going on an 8-2 run to begin the third quarter, the Andover lead was cut to just three, before a basket from Vidoni sent the Warriors into the fourth up five.
The key player in the final frame for the Warriors came off the bench — sophomore Keira Lenihan. The guard scored the first five points in the quarter for Andover, helping the lead grow with time running down.
“We have a saying here – on the court, it’s all business,” said Hibino. “Kiera (Lenihan) just brings an energy every time she comes onto the court. We needed a boost heading into that fourth quarter, and she’s been able to learn from our six seniors that she just needs to move onto the next play.”
For Vidoni and the Warriors, getting a victory over a rival on an off night shooting does plenty as the conference schedule moves on.
“After the senior night celebrations, we definitely had to focus on the game,” said Vidoni. “Sometimes a big crowd like this can be distracting, but we had to lock in and do our job.”
Andover 33, North Andover 24
A – Ella Vidoni 10, Arissa Dorelas 8, Michaela Buckley 6, Kiera Lenihan 5, Gloria Igwe 4
NA – Sydney Rogers 15, Avery Brown 7, Janie Papell 2