Melrose Lady Raiders Basketball

The Melrose Lady Raiders looked to capture the Peabody Tanner tournament against the visiting Winnacunnet, New Hampshire squad that had won their class New Hampshire state championship last season.

Melrose traveled to Peabody for the Tanners' Holiday Tournament, seeking to improve its 3-1 record.

The Lady Raiders met Bishop Fenwick in the semis, and earned a hard-fought victory 66-63. The game was close throughout, Fenwick leading by five at the quarter and Melrose up four at the break, with Meg Kirwan banking in an NBA three at the buzzer.

The game continued close with Melrose unable to pull away, leading 54-50 after three, and holding on with twelve fourth quarter points to advance to the finals against the winner of Peabody and Winnacunnet, NH, a powerhouse from the North.

Unofficially Melrose shot 17-28 from the stripe in a game marked by fouls.

Scoring summary:
Kirwan 24
Clark 3
Hanscom 9
Devereaux 2
Irwin 8
Mamayek 13
Brickley 7

Melrose plays in the Girls' bracket final tomorrow at 6:30 PM at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School.

Melrose renewed its rivalry with Burlington as the Red Devils fell to the Lady Raiders (3-1) 66-37 at the Middle School Gymnasium.

Melrose scored the first two hoops with Meg Kirwan penetrating to the hoop for a pair of layups.Melrose had an early setback with Siena Mamayek picking up a pair of fouls in the first 1:04. But Burlington hung tough through the first period led by Junior forward Kayla Carnell with the score locked at 12 after eight minutes.

Melrose was able to pull away early in period two and went into the break leading 30-22, with an 18-10 second period advantage. Meg had a dozen first half points and Emily Clark added six.

Melrose pressed their advantage during the third stanza, dominating the action with more effective transition play, as a 19-3 run broke the game wide open to 49-25.

The fourth period offreed some playing time for the reserves, with some effective action including a pretty pick and roll by Annmarie Wiesen and some give and go action.

Melrose improved from the stripe tonight, shooting 10-14 (..714).

Scoring summary:
Meg Kirwan 21
Emily Clark 10
Niki Devereaux 4
Sam McGrail 2
Nicole Meuse 1
Annmarie Wiesen 8
Hannah Brickley 8
Siena Mamayek 6
Colleen Hanscom 4
Laura Irwin 2

Lady Raider Notes: Melrose had their annual Alumnae Night as a number of former Lady Raiders, recent and more remote, were able to attend. Each received a rose and a hug from a current player. After the game, the Booster Club sponsored refreshments in the cafeteria. Alumnae Night has become a fan favorite as the community celebrates the contribution of alumnae through the years.

Next week Melrose will travel to Peabody for the Tanner Christmas tournament.

The Melrose Lady Raiders took their 58 game winning streak in the Middlesex League to undefeated Belmont, and Belmont pulled out a squeaker in the final minute to upset Melrose 48-44. Melrose last lost in the ML during the 2003-2004 season versus Woburn on Senior Night.

In the first period Belmont relied on a full court press, giving Melrose some problems en route to a 13-11 lead. Melrose made some adjustments to lead 22-19 at the half.

But the third period was critical, as Belmont's twin towers, Senior Molly Gavin and Sophomore Clara Sullivan held Melrose to 12 points while the hosts put in 18 for a 37-34 lead.

The final period saw Melrose and Belmont close throughout, with Meg Kirwan nailing a three-pointer to tie the score at 44-44 with under a minute remaining. Belmont scored quickly and Melrose was unable to convert free throws leading to the final.

Melrose struggled at the free throw line, making only 4 of 11 (unofficially) as once again free throws proved pivotal in a close game.

Unofficial scoring summary:
Laura Irwin 2
Colleen Hanscom 2
Siena Mamayek 3
Hannah Brickley 15
Nicky Devereaux 5
Emily Clark 4
Meg Kirwan 13

Lady Raider Notes: Melrose hosts Burlington Friday in the Annual Alumnae Night sponsored by the Booster Club. Lady Raiders from many different classes have attended in the past, and we look forward to another successful event.

Click pictures to ENLARGE.

Photos courtesy of Don Norris.

Melrose takes its undefeated (2-0) record, and the longest winning streak in Middlesex League girls basketball history to Belmont tomorrow to face the undefeated Marauders. Belmont has a trio of six-footers, so the battle will have to be won on the glass if the Lady Raiders are to prevail.
Former Mayor James Milano is a regular at Lady Raider home games.
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Sophomore point guard Colleen Hanscom has quarterbacked Melrose to a pair of early season wins.
____________________________________________________________________Emily Clark will have her hands full (of rebounds) tomorrow against Belmont.
____________________________________________________________________Siena Mamayek blocks out underneath
____________________________________________________________________Meg Kirwan gets it done at both ends of the court, here battling Nena Ugwuomo for a rebound.
____________________________________________________________________Through the years, Melrose fans haven't had too many anxious moments, but the home opener against Lexington ws an exception.
___________________________________________________________________Basketball isn't a contact sport; it's a collision sport. Here a loose ball creates Southeast Expressway like traffic near midcourt.
_____________________________________________________________________Congratulations to Hannah Brickley (above), named to the Herald's All-Scholastic volleyball team. She is the first Melrose sophomore to receive the honor, joining Marianne Foley, and Karen and Paula Sen as volleyball All-Scholastics. A most deserving recipient.
___________________________________________________________________Nicky Devereaux launches a jumper.
________________________________________________________________The defense never rests, collapsing on Ugwuomo as she stops and pops.
____________________________________________________________________Meg has half a step on her defender as she drives the lane.
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Lady Raider Notes: Alum Shey Peddy leads Division I Wright State with 15 points per game as they begin their Horizon League season this week. Shey will be unable to attend Friday's Alumnae Night because she's playing that night.

Melrose upped its Middlesex League record to 2-0 with an easy road win at Watertown, defeating the Raiders 67-34. According to former Melrose players, this was the best Watertown team they had seen.

Melrose led 16-11 at the end of the first stanza and held a comfortable 27-14 lead at intermission. Meg Kirwan and Colleen Hanscom both had a solid first half.

The Lady Raiders came out hot in the third period, scoring 24 points to extend the lead to 51-24, and from then on it was largely garbage time.

Several Lady Raiders scored there first varsity points, customarily celebrated by an enthusiastic response from the veterans. Annmarie Weisen, Rachel Caffey, and Amanda Peters all broke into the score book last night.

Unofficial Scoring Summary: Colleen Hanscom 15, Siena Mamayek 11, Meg Kirwan 14, Nicky Devereaux 6, Emily Clark 4, Nicole Meuse 2, Annmarie Wiesen 2, Rachel Caffey 4, Amanda Peters Peters 2.

Lady Raider Notes: Laura Irwin sat out last evening's game with illness. Tuesday Melrose travels to Belmont (2-0) that defeated Lexington 40-37 last night, as Belmont has rejuvenated its program after a couple of down years. Next Friday evening is Alumni Night, when former Lady Raiders return for a 'family reunion'.

Like every program, Melrose faces the challenge of redefining their program with the loss of graduating seniors. But not every program loses top notch athletes who can pass, score, rebound, and defend.

The 2007-2008 team faced the challenge of one of their prime rivals, beating Lexington 36-32, despite foul trouble for Meg Kirwan, and a tremendous night for Nena Ngwuomo, Lexington's powerful guard.

This season brought a number of changes, the opening on the new Middle School Gymnasium for its first basketball action, the Lady Raiders playing the late game, eight minute quarters, and a host of young players getting extended playing time. Melrose got off to a slow start, but opened up at 16-9 lead in the second frame before the Lexington guards brought them back, with the visitors leading 21-20 at the half.

Lexington played mostly zone defense, and Melrose, shooting at the open end of the gym, had trouble finding the range.

The second half had back and forth action, with Melrose leading 31-30 with 2:22 remaining, before an Ngwuomo jumper gave Lexington the lead. With about a minute remaining, Siena Mamayek had a big hoop, a stick back off a Kirwan jumper to give Melrose the lead back at 33-32. After a controversial play where the Lexington coach was not awarded a timeout during rebounding action, Melrose scored again to go up 35-32. After a Lexington miss, Colleen Hanscom was fouled and converted a free throw to close the game and give Melrose another league win.

Score by half:

Melrose... 20 16 (36)

Lexington 21 11 (32)

Lady Raiders Notes: Melrose has not lost an ML girls game since the 2003-2004 campaign, having gone undefeated in league play for the past three seasons. Colleen Hanscom, with a pair of free throws, scored the first two Melrose points ever in the new gymnasium in league play. The open end of the gymnasium did not have the partition closed or the portable stands rolled out, making it a challenging scoring situation.

From HighSchoolSports.net

Please note that the Tuesday contest has the boys playing first and the Lady Raiders up in the second game at 7 PM.

Click photos to ENLARGE.

Photos courtesy of Don Norris

The Lady Raiders prepare for Tuesday's opener against Lexington, having done basketball battle with MVC powers Lowell, Central, and Andover this week.

Senior Co-Captain Meg Kirwan warms up before the contest. Local hoop fans look for Meg to be one of the top players in the Middlesex League this season.
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After being named to the Division II Coaches All-State volleyball team, Sophomore Hannah Brickley looks to take her hoop game to the next level at the '3'.
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Sophomore center Siena Mamayek is another player looking to benefit from another year of experience. She appears on Coach Storm's younger players to watch list.
______________________________________________________________Senior co-captain Emily Clark brings height and defensive toughness, looking to have a breakout season.
_____________________________________________________________________Point guard Colleen Hanscom cuts through, while Hannah swings the ball back, and Bentley bound sharpshooter Meg Thomann defends for Andover. Thomann is one of the top area players.
____________________________________________________________________Andover doubles down on the low post (Siena) while Emily looks to receive a pass just above the foul line.
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Sophomore Nicole Meuse pushes the ball in transition with Siena not far behind.
____________________________________________________________________Meg battles for position on the offensive glass.
_______________________________________________________________A somewhat panoramic view of the 'closed' end of the new Middle School Gymnasium.
________________________________________________________________________Without an abundance of height, Melrose will need stout effort on both ends of the boards from Sophomore Laura Irwin (13) and Emily Clark.
__________________________________________________________________Second-year head coach Rob Ferrante looks to better last season's 21 win campaign.
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A portion of the crowd at yesterday's snowy, frozen scrimmage. Melrose, like Andover, has enjoyed tremendous community support through the years.

Local girls' hoop guru Tom Hellen has his preseason top 25 up and it has lots of information for hoop afficionados. Tom has a great breadth and depth of basketball knowledge and experience about local basketball, and more often than not, he has a good read on what's going on. Click on NEWS PAGE for the details.

What local fans need to know is that college coaches evaluate the total player when considering the 'fit'. They want to know not just the statistics but the player. Does the player play hard all the time? How does she interact with her teammates? Does she play fundamentally sound basketball at both ends of the court? Coaches see a lot more than the average fan does, details concerning how players use their body to get position, create space, rebound, create passing angles and so forth. So when we 'see' our favorites, we also have to see what others see as well.

The Melrose Lady Raiders seek to extend their Middlesex League reign to nine consecutive titles as they embark on the 2007-2008 journey.

Melrose lost only twice last season, once to Division I power Lowell and in the D2 North finals to State Champion Lincoln-Sudbury.

This year's team will seek a new identity as the great Shey Peddy has graduated and moved on to the Wright State Raiders, where she has averaged 16 points/game in her first six games.

As usual, Melrose will have plenty of firepower from the guard position, as Meg Kirwan and Colleen Hanscom handle the backcourt starting chores. Kirwan is a versatile player who can slash and hit the three, and has solid defensive and rebounding skills. Kirwan and Senior Emily Clark captain this year's squad, the second season for Rob Ferrante.

Clark will compete for starting roles up front with Sophomores Hannah Brickley, recently named a D2 All-State player in volleyball, Siena Mamayek, and Laura Irwin. I hope to have more on the remainder of the team when I have the full roster.

Melrose moves into the new Middle School Gymnasium, a beautiful facility which fans will enjoy.

Melrose has already played a pair of scrimmages, the first against powerful Lowell Sunday and today against Central Catholic and their super-soph Katie Zenevitch. Melrose took it to last year's D1 State finalist, leading by over 15 points late in the game.