An Andover High girls basketball star helped her summer team become AAU national champions.
In a Finals battle of unbeaten teams with 6-0 records, the Nicole Boudreau-led New England Shooting Stars, New Hampshire State 15U AAU Champions girls basketball team, remained the only unbeaten team in the tournament with a 78-62 win over the Maryland Sure Shots.
"The score was much closer than it appears," said coach Dennis Reed after the contest. "We came out strong and established an early lead, but we let them back in prior to the half. Defense had been the key to the Stars success throughout the tournament as they held their opponents to 43 points per game while scoring just over 70 ppg themselves.
The Stars battled in the first half and secured an early 13 point lead with with Nicole Boudreau dropping in 19 of the team's first 40 points, but by halftime the Stars were down by one, 40-41.
There were 11 lead changes in the second half until the final three minutes, as the Stars clung to a thin 4-point margin.
"These teams were very evenly matched, each of our players scored, only six of theirs scored, but there was one major difference,", said coach Dennis Reed. "We had Nicole and they didn't."
To afford her team some breathing room, Boudreau knocked down a three to give the Stars a seven point cushion. On the next possession, she hit another to expand the lead to 10. With the defense now stretched to a step outside the arc, and in a span of about 45 seconds, Boudreau dropped another trey from five feet behind the arc to, for all intents and purposes, seal the deal for the new Champions from New England, according to a game description provided by the team.
Boudreau led all scorers with 39, to go along with 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals.
Championship trophy in hand, the Stars were treated to a night on the town at Disney's Magic Kingdom.
The New England Shooting Stars was expected to leave Tuesday, July 20, for the Nike Oasis invitational in Phoenix, Arizona for the team's' final tournament of the NCAA evaluation period.
