WELLESLEY — In the days leading up to Thursday’s Div. girls lacrosse quarterfinal with Andover, Wellesley sophomore Tara Battaglino had been under the weather.

Yet, after the way Battaglino played in her team’s 17-8 win, she looked like the picture of health.

Battaglino scored 10 — yes, 10 — goals, including her team’s first six, as No. 2 Wellesley (19-4) led throughout to advance to the Final Four.

No. 7 Andover’s season ends at 11-11.

“She lost weight. She’s got a bronchial infection,” Wellesley coach Steve Balter said. “But she is one of the biggest competitors we’ve ever had come through here. She’s just an incredible competitor. There was no way she was not going to come through today. You could just see it in her face before the game, honestly. I turned to (assistant) Erin (Coykendall) and said, ‘She’s going to have a big game.’ We played her at attack today because she can’t really still run yet.”

But she can run well enough, and she can sure as heck score goals, too. Battaglino scored the game’s first three goals, and scored two more to give the Raiders a 5-2 lead in the first quarter. She got to the spots she wanted, and scored on a low shot to give Wellesley that first-quarter advantage.

Andover hung around a little in that second quarter, but goals from Alexandra Papavassiliou and Olivia Comella (3 goals) put Wellesley on top, 8-5. Battaglino then finished a free position strike to help give Wellesley a 9-5 lead at the half.

“I have been sick,” Battaglino said. “It’s really a team thing, for me to come back and have everyone be so happy and have so much energy, it really just started with our defense and them have that energy. Yes, I was able to convert, but it was a team effort of me being in the right place and make those cuts, and people seeing those passes. It was really just a team thing, and I was happy to be the person to finish it. It started with the defense, and I’m not going to take credit for that.”

The senior-laden defense did play an important role, as the Raiders only allowed two goals in the second half, partly due to the four yellow cards that forced Andover to play a player down.

“I think we really honed in on what Andover was doing,” Wellesley defender Eliza Chapman said. “We were playing our defense from the first second of the game, but as we continued through the game with them, we learned how they were playing their offense. I think all the defenders, including the midfielders, have a high lacrosse IQ, which helps us continue to play strong against teams like this.”

Battaglino scored two more free position goals in the third quarter. Andover’s Haley Carver led the Warriors with three goals.

Balter credited Coykendall with making the key adjustments throughout. Coykendall plays at Northwestern, is one of the top players in the nation, and has helped Wellesley in this stretch run.

“It’s really exciting,” Coykendall said. “We’ve been talking for a while about me coming out here, and he’s been talking about how awesome these girls are. To really come out here and see it, and see it on full display in the tournament. It’s not always easy to show up in these big games. There’s a lot that goes into it. It’s been really cool just to work with them at practice, to see it really show up on the big stage. I’m excited to keep going with them.”

Andover’s Scarlet Glass, left, collides with Wellesley’s McKay Pratt during Wellesley’s 17-8 girls lacrosse victory Thursday. (Staff Photo/Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)