Melrose Lady Raiders Basketball

Melrose journeyed to Andover to face the Andover Lady Warriors, another premier team from the Merrimack Valley Conference and Division I.

Andover came out fast, bursting to an 11-2 start, before Melrose reeled off a 26-7 run of their own, before Lynley DeAmato and Shey Peddy hit the pine with about 3 minutes left in the first half. Andover then finished the period up by one against Melrose reserves. Lynley and Shey did a lot of the offensive heavy lifting.

In the second stanza, Melrose experimented with a variety of personnel groups and zone defense (neither staples) and Andover, playing their starters almost exclusively again won by 3. Freshman Laura Irwin showed her stuff during this period dominating the boards and showing some solid moves around the hoop.

In the third period, and 8 minute 'quarter', the Melrose reserves, led by five frosh including newcomers Maave Downey and Nicole Meuse took the honors 16-8.

The final ten minutes had the starters playing even for about half the period and the reserves the same, the scoring ending 15-15.

Andover had a host of long-range bombers on the floor tonight, as they work from the outside in. Lynley and Shey more than held their own, and Meg Kirwan also played tough defense on Meg Thomann.

Overall, strength against strength, Melrose matched Andover's best in their house, and the Lady Raiders should feel confident heading into the tournament.

The Melrose Lady Raiders head into the post-season preparing to challenge for their third consecutive appearance at Tsongas Arena and fourth in five years.


The Tournament Brackets are posted here...and the left side of the Bracket imaged below.

Melrose gets a bye in the first round and then faces the winner of the 8-9 game with Wakefield at Latin Academy. Wakefield is led by Brittany Kelleher and Rachel Cail. As you can see, there are three Middlesex League teams in this half of the bracket, with Belmont facing the always tough Westford Academy Grey Ghosts, led by high scoring Alyssa Jann.


Melrose heads in to the playoffs led by three-time Middlesex League MVP Shey Peddy, All-League guard Lynley DeAmato (above), and All-Star Meg Kirwan. The Lady Raiders are preparing for the post season against some top flight competition, squaring off yesterday against Central Catholic and facing Andover at Andover in a scrimmage tomorrow.

Sheylani Peddy has been the straw that stirs the drink for Melrose.
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Freshman Siena Mamayek has enjoyed a solid debut for the Lady Raiders at center.
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Melrose returned to Tony Conigliaro Gymnasium at St. Mary's in Lynn, defeating Lynn Classical 58-35 in the consolation round of the Spartan Tourney.

Melrose came out looking a bit weary after yesterday's donnybrook with Lowell, with their shots falling short both in warmups and early in the contest. However, the Lady Raiders got some momentum, spurred by freshman Hannah Brickley who knocked down 7 points in the first six minutes. Melrose led 16-9 at the 10:14 mark, and although Classical rallied back to 20-14 behind Taneka Brown, Melrose went on a 15-4 run to lead at halftime 35-18. Excepting newcomers Maave Downey and Nicole Meuse, everyone got in on the action in the first half.

The second half both teams appeared worn down, with Shey Peddy and many of the starters out by the 10:22 mark, with a 44-22 lead. From there on the teams often traded hoops, with more spectacular action from Merrimack recruit Brown, who must have had at least 25 of the Rams' points.

Shey Peddy and Hannah Brickley both had 11 points for Melrose, Lynley DeAmato had 10, and Sharon Porcaro was active around the basket adding 7 points.

Shey was named to the All-Tournament team.

Lady Raider Notes: Melrose shot 16 for 21 from the line today, and 39 for 51 in the Tourney. Melrose seemed more accustomed to playing with the three referee set today, although the relatively less competitive game may also have brought about less fouling.

The Lady Raiders finish the regular season at 19-1, the likely top seed for the Division II North Tournament. Tournament pairings should be announced by the MIAA this week. Melrose is likely to face the winner of Wakefield at Reading in the Division II North quarterfinals after a first round bye.

The Spartan Tourney gave Melrose the chance to face top-flight Division I competition, which will be amplified later this week with scrimmages against Central Catholic and Andover. The tourney also gave them the chance to become accustomed to the third official present for the postseason, and a taste for the tournament atmosphere. Aside from the usual cuts and bruises, the team appears to be in good shape headed into the postseason.

Melrose faced D1 North Champion Lowell in the first round of the Spartan Tourney in Lynn, and fell to Lowell 79-76.

Melrose started impressively, with good interior defense and effective ball movement with early balanced scoring. The Lady Raiders went up 27-17 with about 6:37 remaining, and Coach Rob Ferrante had a decision to make. With Shey Peddy with two fouls, would he remove his All-Scholastic, three time Middlesex League MVP, or leave her in tempting fate to deliver a third foul. He rolled the dice, and Lowell capitalized with a 10-0 run, three consecutive unforced turnovers, and Lowell maintained the momentum into the second half, leading 40-37.

Melrose battled back to take the lead 53-50, with the bulk of the offense coming from the guard trio of Peddy (26), Lynn DeAmato (16), and Meg Kirwan (16). Lowell then generated its own run behind point guard Ashley Rivera who was magnificent, and forward Rogers who rained threes from the right corner.

Shey got a questionable fourth foul defending Rivera near the 5 second line, and subsequently fouled out at the 2:07 mark. Melrose didn't quit however, with Kirwan and DeAmato teaming with frontline frosh Siena Mamayek (10) and Hannah Brickley (4) to cut the lead to 78-76 with 3 seconds remaining on a pair of DeAmato treys in the final moments.

Melrose fouled but time was expiring (0:00.2) and Lowell sank one free throw to seal the deal.

Melrose faced top flight competition in first seeded Lowell in Division I and battled to the end. Melrose made 23 of 30 free throws to help themselves stay in the game.

Lessons to be learned included:

• Adjusting to the three-referee game that often increases fouls called on the outside
• Ball security, especially in key situations
• Full attention to transition defense
• Continuous focus on blocking out taller offensive players on the defensive board

Sometimes you get your cake and eat it, too.

Melrose hosted Senior Night at Stoneham, celebrating the careers of Lynley DeAmato, Sheylani Peddy, Krista Limone, Lauren Murray, Sharon Porcaro, and Taylor Pearson. And after shaking off some first half inconsistency while leading 25-17, the Lady Raiders clinched an undefeated Middlesex League season, stopping Wakefield 60-37.

Wakefield closed to 47-35 against reserves with 6:33 remaining, when Coach Rob Ferrante brought Peddy, Meg Kirwan, and DeAmato back to crush Wakefield with a 13-2 run.

Peddy ended her ML career with 24 points with DeAmato adding 10.

• 3 - Consecutive undefeated (18-0) ML seasons
• 6 - Losses in the past 5 seasons (in the past 88 games, Melrose has lost 4, by 2 to Woburn in 2004, by 13 to AC in the 2004 D2 North semis, by 1 to Gloucester at the Tsongas in 2005, and by 3 to OA at the Garden last March)
• 8 - Consecutive ML league titles
• 18 - Wins this season
• 20 - Shey Peddy second half points today
• 56 - Consecutive ML wins

Lady Raider Notes: The Booster Club presented every senior with roses and red and white balloons, and also presented a rose and balloon to the graduating Wakefield seniors.

After the contest, the Club also hosted a pizza party gathering for the players, coaches, families, and fans. The traditional Congratulations Seniors photo cake was on hand, too.

The Middlesex League All-Star game is held Sunday at 2 P.M. at Reading High School. Melrose will pick up the ML Championship trophy and individual honors to several players. We'll save that news for the official announcement.

Melrose travels to St. Mary's in Lynn at 5 P.M. Sunday to face Merrimack Valley Conference Power and defending D1 North Champion Lowell in the Spartan Tourney.

The Melrose Lady Raiders clinched their 8th consecutive Middlesex League title with a 55-42 win against Winchester to run their record to 17-0.

Melrose raced off to an 11-0 lead in the first 3:49, with total team effort. Winchester didn't go quietly into the night however, rallying back to a 15-12 deficit with 6:15 left in the half. Jen Bandi fired in seven first half points while Kate Bailey did some heavy board work for the visitors. Melrose responded with an 8-0 run of their own however to bring the lead to 23-12 with 4:02 remaining, and the game was effectively over.

The Lady Raiders held a 30-16 halftime lead, and opened it up to 46-27 with 10:07 and the reserves had their run of the court for most of the remainder of the game.

Shey Peddy led the parade with 20, Lynn DeAmato put in 10 and Meg Kirwan added 9 for Melrose, the latter two both in light minutes.

Lady Raider Notes: Melrose has improved their free throw shooting of late, going 16 for 19 last night. Melrose has a chance for their third consecutive undefeated ML campaign with a victory over Wakefield Friday, which will also be Senior Night. We're sure that the Lady Raiders would appreciate a big crowd Friday to thank the seniors for their contribution to the program, as Shey, Lynley, Sharon Porcaro, Taylor Pearson, and Lauren Murray will conclude their Middlesex League careers.

If the playoffs were held today, Melrose would go up against Burlington in the first round. The link above has very active updates on tournament pairings.

Melrose inspires passion as a basketball hotbed for divergent reasons, a winning tradition and a welcoming community embracing change. Melrose has its warts, too but remains committed to erasing those. And the Middlesex League version of the Yankees have a loyal following that mark the hallmarks of the Girls' Basketball Program - excellence, effort, academic achievement, and intense community support.

Envious outsiders point to Melrose's lack of a state title to demean what Melrose's young women have accomplished, especially over the past five seasons. Proud partisans point not to what hasn't been built, but what has.

• Melrose expects to open a terrific new athletic facility this fall.
• Melrose's senior girls' hoop class all graduated with honors last season, including the valedictorian and salutatorian.
• In the past five years, Melrose continually has sent its top girls hoopsters to outstanding universities, including but not limited to Harvard, Dartmouth, Boston College, Northeastern, Providence, Bentley, Merrimac, and the state universities throughout New England.
• Melrose athletes continue to achieve recognition for community service off the court.
• Melrose has won seven consecutive Middlesex League titles.
• Melrose has the opportunity to go undefeated in the regular season for the fourth season during the past five.
• Melrose has established a Middlesex League record for consecutive victories (54) while playing almost exclusively on the road (one game in 2006 was played at the Marcoux Gym) while the new high school gym was under construction.
• The four year postseason record is twelve and four. Outside of perhaps Walpole, how many high school girls hoop teams have won twelve postseason games over that period? (Note: the Melrose girls' volleyball team has also won twelve postseason games and three D2 North titles over the same period).
• The five year regular season record is now 94-2.
• The five year overall record is now 106-6.
• The Lady Raiders have played at the Fleet Center/Garden twice in the past four seasons.
• Melrose has appeared at the Tsongas Arena, Division II North finals three times in the past four seasons, capturing two Division II North titles and missing out on another by a point.

Among the current players with very incomplete information, one student has been accepted to all six schools to which she applied, another has received several academic scholarships from which to choose, and Shey Peddy has yet to commit to a university and its basketball program.

"The quality of mercy is not strained." - Shakespeare

Last night Melrose traveled to Stoneham for Stoneham's Senior Night, and came away with a 58-43 victory, clinching at least a tie for their eighth consecutive ML title.

After Tuesday's hard-fought victory at Reading, Melrose Coach Rob Ferrante substituted liberally getting everyone involved during a sloppy 29-23 first half. A trio of Shey Peddy treys brought some order amidst a chaotic first stanza with many unusual personnel groups on the floor.

The "Dogs of War" released in the opening minutes of the second half, Melrose vaulted to a 52-26 edge with a 23-3 run over the first five and half minutes and coasted to victory.

Shey Peddy had 16 in limited minutes, with Lynn DeAmato firing in 14 also in light duty.

Melrose finishes the regular season league play next week against Winchester and Wakefield, trying for another undefeated ML campaign. The Lady Raiders then will play Lowell, Peabody, or Lynn Classical in the St. Mary's Tournament, preparing for the postseason, and scrimmage against Central Catholic and Andover.

The Melrose Lady Raiders (15-0), who haven't had a home court for almost two seasons, traveled to Reading's renovated fieldhouse and battled to a 54-44 win over the previously 12-3 Rockets. Reading looked to win its first girls' hoop game against Melrose since January 27, 1998.

Reading features two certain All-League players in Mary Silvia and Tegan Atallah, and North Shore league volleyball Player of the Year versatile Meredith Gent. Coach Kim Penney leads the Rockets into the tournament yearly, and they are notoriously tough at home.

Melrose raced out to an 8-2 start after Gent's opening jumper, but Silvia answered back with four hoops to knot the score at 10. Reading played a matchup combination zone against Melrose's Shey Peddy, limiting her opportunities to get to the basket, and Melrose led at halftime 19-18 behind 7 points from Meg Kirwan, playing her best game as a Lady Raider.

Two early fouls limited Siena Mamayek's output at both ends, and turnovers plagued both teams, particularly traveling calls in the rebounding action.

The second half brought out more tenacious Reading defense and the Rockets led 28-25 with 8:56 remaining. Then Melrose launced a devastating press, going on an 8-0 run in less than two minutes which gave them the lead for good. Emily Clark sparked the defense off the bench, and both freshmen Hannah Brickley and Laura Irwin provided solid board play off the bench.

Silvia was magnificent playing the point and doing much of the shooting for Reading, firing in 21 points. Also, she penetrated effectively at times, laying the ball down to Reading forwards for easy hoops.

Melrose held the advantage and actually widened it down the stretch behind 17 second half Peddy points, 17 for the game for Kirwan, and 10 points and several key rebounds by Lynley DeAmato. Melrose also nailed 9 of 10 free throws in the second half to remain unblemished.

Lost but not least was Melrose's unique accomplishment of achieving 53 consecutive Middlesex League victories, which eclipsed their previous record. They had two league victories at the end of the 2003-4 season, 18 in each of the previous two seasons, and fifteen this season.

Melrose went with a considerably shortened rotation for the Reading game, with Kirwan, Peddy, and DeAmato providing yeoman duty and 48 of the team's 54 points. The Melrose inside game struggled against the taller Rockets, and Pandolfo played Peddy tough in a very physical defensive display.

Lady Raider Notes: Melrose prepares for the St. Mary's tournament in almost two weeks, with commentary abstracted from Tom Hellen's commentary at Mass Live.

The St Mary's tourney is Sunday, February 18, and Monday February 19.

The Division 1 portion is Lowell, Melrose (a D2 club that plays like a D1), Peabody and Lynn Classical.

The Division 2 portion is St. Mary's, Lynnfield, Newburyport and Lynn English.

On Sunday the games are St. Mary's vs. Lynnfield (2:00), Newburyport vs. English at (3:30), Lowell vs. Melrose (5:00) and Peabody vs. Lynn Classical (7:00). All games are at St. Mary's High School in Lynn.

On Monday the Division 2 consolation is at 2:00, Division 1 consolation is at 3:30, the Division 2 final is at 5:00 and the Division 1 final is at 7:00.

For Melrose hoop history buffs, the Woburn Daily Times Chronicle, with its outstanding sports page provides an overview of the Lady Raiders' success the past few seasons.

Tom Hellen, a.k.a. CoachStorm has his initial 'Bracketology' overview, tournament preview. Standings can change rapidly, and as you can see, Melrose is the only undefeated team remaining in Division II North. As currently constituted, Boston Latin and Charlestown would be sacrificial lambs for the likes of Lincoln-Sudbury and Westford. Through no fault of their own, the city schools generally lack the depth and player experience to compete on a level playing field in the postseason.

Boston Herald uberreporter Danny Ventura has revised Boys and Girls rankings in his Starting Five. Many observers recognize Ventura as a top school sports correspondent nationally.

Arlington Catholic (AC) dropped a decision in overtime at Division 1 Central Catholic today, giving the Cougars three losses and potentially moving them into the 7th-8th seed. AC has a challenging schedule that includes the likes of Cardinal Spellman (twice), Bishop Fenwick (twice), Wilmington, Archbishop Williams, Masconomet, Framingham (a Bay State League power), and the Comcast Tournament.

I spoke with AC coach Dave Brady today who gave some perspective. Concerning Melrose's schedule, he noted that eighteen league games leaves very little flexibility.

He opined that Melrose native Maria Scocca's injury means that they have to retool their lineup and that adjustments take time. They had only three days without Scocca before dropping last week's contest with Spellman. Scocca's injury could mean that she is lost for the season. AC will be smaller, but quicker, if Melrose's Becky Bowman moves into the lineup. As for injuries, Brady noted that's just part of the deal with coaching.

He projected his team for the eighth seed in Division II North, based on their schedule. Last year Melrose eliminated AC in a quarterfinal D2 North match at Stoneham.

According to the Woburn Daily Chronicle, Middlesex League girls' teams are 10-3 outside of Middlesex League play.

Melrose heads into Tuesday's rematch at Reading (7 p.m.) looking to eclipse their ML record 52 consecutive game victory streak. Reading features a pair of scholarship players, Mary Silvia (Division I) at shooting guard and Tegan Atallah (Division II) at center.

Melrose returned 'home' to Stoneham after a brief road swing to defeat Woburn 74-32.

Woburn jumped out quickly 9-3 behind some long range shooting and had Melrose even about 7 minutes into the game. The Lady Raiders lacked their characteristic intensity until Taylor Pearson came in from the bench firing in a quick trey and seven first half points, leading Melrose to a 24-14 lead. Melrose couldn't really extend the advantage, holding a 31-20 halftime edge.

Melrose Coach Rob Ferrante didn't look happy as the team left the floor, and his whiteboard (divided and conquered) looked even less pleased. In the words of one of the Melrose team, "what happens back there, stays back there," concerning the coach's halftime missive.

Melrose returned to the floor with a newfound purpose early in the second half, dialing up the intensity with combination, trapping defense forcing turnovers that Melrose frequently turned into easy points. The Lady Raiders went on an 8-0 run in the first 1:53 of the second half to put the game away 39-20.

Ferrante's halftime counsel wasn't lost on the Lady Raiders who evidently got the message, with far more appropriate intensity as they head down the stretch and a showdown with the Reading Rockets Tuesday.

Lady Raider Notes: Freshman Siena Mamayek led the Lady Raiders with her Melrose high of fourteen points, while Meg Kirwan chipped in thirteen, and Shey Peddy added ten and some spectacular assists.

Former Lady Raider Shannon Kirwan scored her 1000th point this week for the Bentley Falcons.