Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Melrose Heads to Tsongas Arena with 67-52 Win
The Melrose Lady Raiders (20-1) came into beautiful North Andover to face 20-2 Westford Academy, led by All-Scholastic and Colgate recruit Alyssa Jann. The Dual County League, with two teams in the semifinals, Lincoln-Sudbury, already headed to Lowell, looked for an all DCL final. But it was not to be, as Shey Peddy, doing everything but changing in the phone booth before the game, led Melrose to a 67-52 victory. The win puts Melrose into the Tsongas Arena and D2 North finals for the fourth time in five seasons.
Melrose was vastly undersized against their rivals, and Jann promptly went to the hoop for two and got fouled for three. Melrose hung tough, with Meg Kirwan and Peddy leading early, racing out to a 21-11 lead. But Kirwan, assigned to the peripatetic Jann, got into foul trouble and had to sit down with three in the first half. Spelling starter Sharon Porcaro, the Melrose freshman trio of Siena Mamayek, Laura Irwin, and Hannah Brickley came up big, blocking out their taller opponents, and either grabbing rebounds or allowing the guards to do the heavy lifting.
Amidst 22 first half points from Peddy, and 7 apiece from Lynley DeAmato and Kirwan, Melrose walked off with a 42-19 lead.
But in tournament play, no teams have quit in them, and WA came out firing on all cylinders, inside and outside, cutting the lead to 12 with twelve minutes remaining. Melrose seemed tentative at times, knifing through the Grey Ghost's 2-1-2 press, but hesitant to attack the back defenders with 3 on 2 or 4 on 2 advantages.
However, surviving Westford's counterpunching, Melrose rallied, once again led by their three guard monster, as Peddy, DeAmato, and Kirwan combined for 57 points, led by Peddy's career high 35 to hold off the Ghosts 67-52. Westford had closed to 7, but a Peddy steal and layup extended the lead, and Melrose was able to control the ball and the clock down the stretch.
Unsung in the victory was the steady defensive work of sophomore Nicky Devereaux in the latter part of the first half against the WA scorer Jann, and the coaching of Rob Ferrante, who made some key substitutions, opting correctly for height against the Westford size. Melrose has a history of using timeouts parsimoniously to control the tempo, which can be critical against top competition in playoff venues.
Lady Raider Notes: Melrose will face Lincoln Sudbury and 6' 5" Carolyn Swords, headed to BC this fall in the D2 North final. L-S defeated last year's Melrose opposition in the Tsongas, Masconomet last night.
Somerville hoop guru Tom Hellen and I had a terrific conversation before the game, Tom wearing his red shirt to show his pick of Melrose. Coach Hellen felt that WA would be unable to contain Peddy, and he was prophetic in his comments. Amidst the large crowd were former Melrose Coach Dave Brady and his mentor and Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame coach Sonny Lane and his wife, Paula. Lane was former Athletic Director at Melrose High School and coached the Wakefield High School boys to numerous sectional titles and a State Championship in 1983.
Melrose was vastly undersized against their rivals, and Jann promptly went to the hoop for two and got fouled for three. Melrose hung tough, with Meg Kirwan and Peddy leading early, racing out to a 21-11 lead. But Kirwan, assigned to the peripatetic Jann, got into foul trouble and had to sit down with three in the first half. Spelling starter Sharon Porcaro, the Melrose freshman trio of Siena Mamayek, Laura Irwin, and Hannah Brickley came up big, blocking out their taller opponents, and either grabbing rebounds or allowing the guards to do the heavy lifting.
Amidst 22 first half points from Peddy, and 7 apiece from Lynley DeAmato and Kirwan, Melrose walked off with a 42-19 lead.
But in tournament play, no teams have quit in them, and WA came out firing on all cylinders, inside and outside, cutting the lead to 12 with twelve minutes remaining. Melrose seemed tentative at times, knifing through the Grey Ghost's 2-1-2 press, but hesitant to attack the back defenders with 3 on 2 or 4 on 2 advantages.
However, surviving Westford's counterpunching, Melrose rallied, once again led by their three guard monster, as Peddy, DeAmato, and Kirwan combined for 57 points, led by Peddy's career high 35 to hold off the Ghosts 67-52. Westford had closed to 7, but a Peddy steal and layup extended the lead, and Melrose was able to control the ball and the clock down the stretch.
Unsung in the victory was the steady defensive work of sophomore Nicky Devereaux in the latter part of the first half against the WA scorer Jann, and the coaching of Rob Ferrante, who made some key substitutions, opting correctly for height against the Westford size. Melrose has a history of using timeouts parsimoniously to control the tempo, which can be critical against top competition in playoff venues.
Lady Raider Notes: Melrose will face Lincoln Sudbury and 6' 5" Carolyn Swords, headed to BC this fall in the D2 North final. L-S defeated last year's Melrose opposition in the Tsongas, Masconomet last night.
Somerville hoop guru Tom Hellen and I had a terrific conversation before the game, Tom wearing his red shirt to show his pick of Melrose. Coach Hellen felt that WA would be unable to contain Peddy, and he was prophetic in his comments. Amidst the large crowd were former Melrose Coach Dave Brady and his mentor and Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame coach Sonny Lane and his wife, Paula. Lane was former Athletic Director at Melrose High School and coached the Wakefield High School boys to numerous sectional titles and a State Championship in 1983.
// posted by Ron Sen, MD, FCCP @ 10:29 PM 
