Sunday, February 18, 2007
Lessons Learned in Defeat Can Bring Victory Later
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:
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
// posted by Ron Sen, MD, FCCP @ 8:53 PM 
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Melrose defeated Lynn Classical today in the consolation round. The team has a few days off before preparing for the tourney with scrimmages.
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