Melrose Lady Raiders Basketball

A story from ESPN.com.

Melrose hosts Reading Saturday. The teams split a pair of closely contested games during the regular season and will battle for the right to meet the Westford-Arlington Catholic winner in the Division 2 North semifinals. Please note the MIAA website link shows Saturday's game at 2:30 P.M. at Melrose.

Townonline.com featured a pair of articles on the Lady Raiders.

The young Lady Raiders (18-3), led by a pair of veteran senior captains, Meg Kirwan and Emily Clark, defeated visiting North Andover (11-10) in a first round playoff game, 47-28 at the Middle School Gym.

The game proved closer than the final however, as the Knights counter punched effectively, trailing 9-8 after one stanza and leading 17-16 at the half.

Postseason play adds the third zebra (official) and more often than not, that can result in early foul trouble. And so it was tonight, with Meg Kirwan picking up her second early in the second frame, with the score knotted at 9. Coach Rob Ferrante elected to go with Nicole Meuse who responded well.

Melrose made a second half adjustment with full court man-to-man pressure, which bothered North Andover, and sophomore Hannah Brickley came out en fuego with some early points that got Melrose's momentum back, as the locals went up 24-17 at the 3:51 mark. After three, Melrose held what appeared to be a slim 26-20 lead.

But a pair of early final quarter treys, the first from Colleen Hanscom from the right corner and the second from Meg Kirwan from above the top of the key put Melrose up 34-22, sealing the victory.

Melrose's keys to victory included stingy defense on talented Knight forward Nicole Zahoruiko, aggressive rebounding at both ends, and consistency from the free throw line. The interior defense as well as Meg Kirwan who also defended the Knight star held her far below her recent scoring average. Brickley and Laura Irwin both proved especially tough on the glass. Overall, Melrose shot 11 for 15 on free throws.

Very unofficially, Meg Kirwan once again led Melrose with 14, Hannah Brickley had 8, Siena Mamayek added 7, Colleen Hanscom 6, Laura Irwin 5, Nicole Meuse 4, Emily Clark 2, and Nicki Devereaux 1.

Score by Periods*

Melrose... 9 7 10 21

N. Andover 8 9 3 8

Post season callups. Traditionally the coaching staff has added players to the Varsity Roster. This season Coach Ferrante promoted Teagan Bell (sister of former Lady Raider Sam Bell), Ashley Cunningham, and Christine Viola. Congratulations to all on their hard work.

Faces in the Crowd. As usual, former Mayor James Milano rooted on the Lady Raiders. Reading Coach Kim Penney was scouting the game with her assistant. If Reading wins their first round game, they will invade the Middle School Gym as Melrose's quarterfinal round opponent.

*Statistical data, scoring summaries, and miscellaneous information provided by the Back Row Gang.

Melrose (17-3) hosts North Andover (11-9)coached by Sue Breen, from the Cape Ann League. The CAL champion, Masconomet, earned the number one seed in Division II North, finishing at 19-1 with their only loss an overtime defeat to South powerhouse Cardinal Spellman.

North Andover is led by Nicole Zahoruiko, who puts up regular double doubles, including a combined 43 points and 27 rebounds in her final two regular season games against Masco and Chelmsford.

Melrose is led by senior co-Captains Meghan Kirwan, Middlesex League MVP and Emily Clark, a 5-11 power forward who came into her own during the second half of the season. Kirwan effectively slashes to the basket, is relentless on both ends of the boards, and has three point range. Melrose historically relies on man-to-man defense and transition offense.

Melrose's Kiddie Corps, sophomores Hannah Brickley (All-League), Siena Mamayek (All-Star), Colleen Hanscom, Laura Irwin, and Nicole Meuse, along with junior Nicki Devereaux all get consistent minutes.

Melrose has gone deep into the playoffs over the past five seasons.

• 2003, D2 North Champs, EMASS finals, Fleet Center loss to Fontbonne
• 2004, D2 North semifinals, loss to AC
• 2005, D2 North finals, one point loss to Gloucester
• 2006, D2 North Champs, EMASS finals, Fleet Center three point loss to State Champion Oliver Ames
• 2007, D2 North finals, loss to State Champion Lincoln Sudbury

Melrose takes a 14-5 playoff record over the past five years into high school's version of March Madness. Melrose looks to return to the Tsongas Arena for the fifth time in the past six seasons, but will enjoy playoff action in Melrose after two seasons in Stoneham during school construction.

Alumni Notes: Shey Peddy continues to have a terrific freshman season at Wright State, leading the Raiders to a 9-5 Horizon League record. Shey leads her team in scoring at 15.4 points per game, is 15th in Division I in steals and remains among the top 40 nationally in shooting percentage.

The MIAA held its annual seeding (records and coin flips) conference and pairings are out.

Yes, the future is now for the Lady Raiders, but tonight the 7th graders square off in the Melrose Hoop version of the Texas Death Match. The ball gets tossed up at 6:45 in the Marcoux Gym.

The Middle School Travel team, coached by Ralph Labella hosts the YMCA team coached by Steve Kirwan. Both squads have a number of promising and talented players.

The Middle School team has an overall record of 28-7, including 9-4 in the uber-tough River Valley 'A' League.

Last year the Middle School team narrowly defeated the 'Y' at the YMCA band box in one of the most physical games I have seen in a long time.

The ML announced their All-League and All-Star teams today. Melrose placed three players on the All-League team including MVP Meg Kirwan, senior co-captain Emily Clark, and sophomore forward Hannah Brickley. Sophomore forward Siena Mamayek earned All-Star honors.

The team the Melrose ladies played on captured a narrow victory over their opposition.

Sophomore point guard Colleen Hanscom competed in the three-point shooting contest.

The playoffs will begin after the February vacation.

The latest standings in D2 North (Playoff seedings may be determined by coin flip)...if the sixteen game format holds, you might see a terrific first round battle between Gloucester and AC. If the 'chalk' were to hold (and Melrose were seeded number three by coin flip), the quarterfinals would feature a Melrose-Belmont rematch. However, Reading plays in the St. Mary's tournament with a strong field and they could easily flip positions with Belmont.

If Melrose were seeded fourth, then a similar quarterfinal rematch with either Belmont or Reading would be quite possible, with the winner destined to face Masco, most likely at Wilmington if previous years' planning applied. Of course, it's all about the philosophy to 'survive and advance'.

Off the beaten track? Like Indian food? I do, but I don't want to go into Cambridge or Boston to get it. There's a relatively new Indian food restaurant in Wakefield (Water Street) named India's Finest and we had a terrific meal there tonight for a reasonable price. Just be careful how spicy you want it...

Melrose clinched its ninth consecutive Middlesex League title with a convincing 60-39 win at Wakefield. The loss also eliminated Wakefield from postseason play.

There is small love lost between the programs, with Wakefield a dominant team during the 90s, administering some beatings to an upstart Melrose program, and Melrose returning the favor during this decade.

Melrose moved out to a 13-8 first period lead and 28-16 halftime edge, led by ten first half Meg Kirwan points. For all intents and purposes, the Lady Raiders clinched the title with a 23-13 third period edge, and the rout was on. Melrose turned the 12 point halftime cushion into a 23 point bulge with 3:19 to go in the third.

Melrose drilled in five three pointers during the contest, two from Hannah Brickley, and one apiece from Nicki Devereaux, Meg Kirwan, and Amanda Peters.

Kirwan led Melrose in scoring with 15, abetted largely by Brickley with 14, and Emily Clark with 11. Nicole Meuse and Siena Mamayek each added 5, Peters 4, Devereaux 3, Colleen Hanscom 2, and Annmarie Wiesen 1.

Score by Periods

Melrose 13 15 23 9

Wakefld 08 08 13 10


Lady Raider Notes: Melrose has made gains at the stripe, shooting 13-18 for the game.

Melrose hosts the Middlesex League All-Star Game at 2:00 P.M. with the Girls' game, three-point shooting contest, and the Boys' game.

Melrose comes into the postseason with some momentum, which they will need if the Lady Raiders and Coach Rob Ferrante are going to maintain the '20 game' win streak. Closing out the regular season, Melrose will need at least three postseason wins to keep that magic number alive.

Sister Act. Meg Kirwan's ML MVP gives the Kirwan family three MVP awards, with sister Shannon a two-time winner. Meg's award also precluded the Lyons family from capturing their second MVP title, as Jaclyn contended to add a trophy to the family case. Older sister Justine won an ML MVP, before Wright State star Shey Peddy's trifecta during the past three seasons.

Melrose hosted Winchester last night, pinning a 55-27 defeat on the Sachems. As a result, the 16-3 Lady Raiders clinched a share of their ninth consecutive ML title. A victory tomorrow at Wakefield can give Melrose sole possession of the ML title.

Senior Night festivities honored Meg Kirwan and Emily Clark, who both had solid games in their final regular season home game.

Melrose got out to a quick 15-8 first period lead, and a 21-0 second quarter advantage put the contest away with a 36-8 halftime advantage. It was cruise control from there.

Meg Kirwan led the scoring with 15, Emily Clark added 14, sophomores Hannah Brickley and Colleen Hanscom both added 8, Siena Mamayek had 6, with Amanda Peters 4 and Nicole Meuse 2.

Score by Periods

Melrose 15 21 11 8

Wnchstr 8 0 8 11


Lady Raider Notes: As is customary, the Lady Raiders presented balloons and a rose to graduating seniors from the visitors. Melrose seniors and their parents received hearty congratulations on their successful careers. During the past four seasons, Melrose has gone 23-1, 23-1, 20-3, and 16-3 for an overall record of 82-8, has gone to the Tsongas Arena the past three seasons, and played at the Boston Garden once.

The Lady Raiders shot 8 for 10 from the free throw line and added a pair of three pointers by Meg Kirwan.

Kirwan was voted Middlesex League MVP by ML Coaches in helping to lead Melrose to the league championship, and Emily Clark was named to the All-League team as well.

The annual ML All-Star game will be played Saturday at the new Middle School Gymnasium at 2 PM, with the boys' game to follow. Full All-League and All-Star rosters are announced at the game, and the league holds three point shooting contests. The games provide an opportunity to see the top boys and girls in action and allows the players to become acquainted in a more casual setting.

Division II North Projections

The ML works in mysterious ways. Melrose slipped into a first place tie with Reading Tuesday as the Rockets ended Melrose's three-plus year home winning streak. Melrose got back on track tonight with a 60-44 victory over Stoneham. Meanwhile, if the Boston Globe scores are correct, Lexington handed Reading their third league defeat 49-45. Ergo, the Lady Raiders retake sole possession of first place in the league.

Meg Kirwan helped make her teammates better early with a pair of early assists. Senior co-captain Emily Clark also had another strong game with ten points and a gaggle of rebounds to aid Kirwan's 20 points.

Melrose jumped out to a 39-19 halftime lead and never looked back, despite a very solid effort from Sophomore Cassie Liston, who was outstanding for the Spartans.

Keys to victory.

• Improved ball movement
• Dramatic reduction of first half turnovers
• Movement without the ball...although generally better, Meg Kirwan particularly excelled at finding open spaces
• Free throw shooting. Melrose was 11 for 13 early, and finished 12 for 18.

Needs improvement.

• Three point shooting. Unofficially, I had the Lady Raiders as 1-12 from beyond the arc Tuesday, followed up with 0-8 today, for a combined 1-20. The Lady Raiders have gotten good looks, but are not converting.
  

Lady Raider Notes: While overall the team is young, on Tuesday, Melrose celebrates Senior Night, with a pair of seniors, co-captains Meg Kirwan and Emily Clark. With two games left in the regular season, Melrose controls their destiny as they seek their ninth consecutive Middlesex League title.

They are outlined here.

Passion Play

The Reading victory over Melrose has generated passion about the program, from the Melrose and the Reading side, the former here and the latter at MassLive.

Extracurricular activities, notably interscholastic sports, have multiple purposes. Sports teaches many life lessons, the tenuous balance between victory and defeat, sportsmanship, and has tangible benefits for student-athletes.

Without a doubt, in Melrose we have created great interest and support for the girls' sports programs in particular. Winning makes news and as the saying goes, "victory has a thousand fathers and defeat is an orphan'.

The primary purpose of this website is to provide a forum where interested fans (and families) can access scores and information about the Lady Raiders. The site isn't run to promote individual players and certainly isn't intended to criticize the effort which players, coaches, and families undertake (year round) to support the team.

Cause and effect. Teams win and lose games, from offseason preparation, pregame planning, in --game execution, and coaching adjustments (or not). I used to say I never took a bad shot, but I was standing in the wrong place when a lot of them got launched.

As I told one of the players last night, great effort and there's a lot more basketball to be played. Hold your head high and work hard to prepare for the next game.

The community supports your efforts, not only when victory results.

Melrose had never lost to Reading in the Kim Penney era. Nobody we talked to had witnessed a Melrose defeat to Reading, but it happened at the Middle School Gym, with a 50-47 loss reminiscent of the Division II North title defeat to Gloucester several years ago.

Melrose jumped off to a 16-7 lead, then went ice cold, forsaking an inside game to launch threes at the open end of the gym. Reading's patience paid off, and although Melrose took a 20-19 lead into the half, the lead didn't feel safe.

For Melrose, the Lady Raiders struggled with a modified box-and-one, as Reading contained Melrose MVP candidate Meg Kirwan, who ultimately finished with 17 points. Emily Clark did yeoman work at both ends, with 15 points and some key blocks, in her best game as a Lady Raider.

But Melrose had no answers for Reading junior Jaclyn Lyons who drove through and around Melrose defenders, and scored inside and outside to lead Reading.

Meg Kirwan hit Melrose's lone three late in the game, and Melrose took a 47-43 lead late in the game. However, Lyons broke free from defensive coverage and pounded in a three with under a minute to close the lead to one.

Melrose had possession and a one point lead with 28.5 seconds remaining, with clock management paramount. Melrose initially managed to burn clock, but a Reading steal with about 14 seconds remaining led to a Rocket hoop with about 7 seconds remaining, quickly followed by yet another Melrose turnover with 2.8 seconds remaining. Lyons added a pair of free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining, and Melrose's 21 game winning streak against Reading was history.

The Back Row Gang Energizer Award went unanimously to Emily Clark for her outstanding effort.

Game Analysis bullet points:

• Melrose couldn't contain Reading point guard Lyons who was outstanding
• "The ball is gold." Eighteen first half turnovers kept Melrose from generating quality shots.
• "You're as cold as ice." Melrose continues to struggle from three-point land, connecting on only one of about a dozen shots from beyond the arc.
  
• Melrose showed inconsistent defense of Reading's drives from the foul line, after cutters passed through.
  
• Both teams played with a high intensity level making for quality entertainment. Particularly notable were players scrapping and diving on the floor, notably Sophomore forward Hannah Brickley.
  

With a handful of games remaining, Melrose and Reading are tied for first in the Middlesex League with a pair of losses apiece.

The Lady Raiders have won the past eight Middlesex League championships. Tomorrow night, the 2007-2008 version gets the opportunity to host Reading at the Middle School Gym for a chance to put a stranglehold on the 2008 league title race. Melrose holds a slim one game lead on the Rockets who beat Belmont but lost to Melrose during the first circuit through the league.

Last night the Patriots came to play, but the Giants came to win. Melrose will have to bring a giant-sized effort to beat the Rockets on a roll, and seeking retribution for a decade of disappointment. Point guard Jackie Lyons mans the controls for the Rockets. Lyons follows in the footsteps of Mary Silvia and sister Justine Lyons as recent Reading stars grounded by Melrose.

Coach Rob Ferrante continues the tradition of tight man-to-man defense and transition offense, while Reading's Kim Penney has generally pursued a similar philosophy.

Melrose hopes to get back to full strength, looking for Laura Irwin to return and bring energy on both ends of the court and toughness on the glass. Meg Kirwan is second in the ML in scoring behind Lyons, ably assisted by Colleen Hanscom, Nicki Devereaux, and Nicole Meuse in the backcourt. Along with Irwin, Emily Clark, and sophomores Siena Mamayek and Hannah Brickley carry the load up front.

Melrose, based on impressive defensive efforts against Belmont and Woburn moves up to thirteen in the Boston Globe poll. Local hoop guru Tom Hellen clocks Melrose in at 14 and Reading at 24 in his weekly poll at the News Page at CoachStorm5.com.

Lady Raider Notes: Alum Sheylani Peddy has put up incredible numbers at Horizon League member Wright State. The freshman is 24th in Division I in field goal percentage at 55.9% and has moved up to 14th in the nation in steals at 3.3/game.

Melrose continues to hold a one-game lead over second place Reading, thanks to home cooking delivering a 62-22 clinic to Woburn. Woburn came in sky high after its upset victory over Belmont Tuesday.

But Melrose dissolved any hopes for the Tanners with a 24-8 first quarter, reminding fans of much of the past with high energy, transition basketball, and suffocating man-to-man defense.

Melrose substituted liberally, but lost no momentum, leading 31-11 at the break. Hannah Brickley tossed in five first half field goals while Meg Kirwin continued her consistency with nine.

Melrose widened the lead in the third, taking a 47-17 lead with 1:11 remaining, and closed out three up 49-17. The fourth period saw lots of time for the reserves, and Melrose outscored the Tanners 13-5 for the final.

Hannah Brickley led the scoring with 16, Meg Kirwan added 14, Colleen Hanscom 11, Emily Clark and Siena Mamayek both had 6, Nicole Meuse had 4, and Annmarie Wiesen, filling in for Laura Irwin with illness absence, added 3.

Free throws weren't much of a factor, with Melrose shooting 7 for 11. Melrose added three from international waters.

Back Row Gang Energizer of the Game: the BRGE Award recognizes a player that brought notable energy during tonight's game, not necessarily the most valuable player, or statistical leader. Hannah Brickley received the nod tonight, with consideration for Annmarie Wiesen off the bench, and Meg Kirwin and Colleen Hanscom for defensive heat.

Score by Periods

Melrose 24 7 18 13

Woburn..... 8 3 6 5


Lady Raider Notes: Melrose won't be looking for Turnaround Tuesday, as they host the ever-dangerous Reading Rockets, hard on the Lady Raiders' heels with only two defeats. Dynamic point guard Jackie Lyons leads the Rockets, who have been a guard-focused team through the years. Reading has largely been a Melrose mirror image, well-coached by Kim Penney, with aggressive man-to-man defense and transition offense.

A Melrose victory could largely secure the ninth consecutive Middlesex League title for the Lady Raiders, while Reading looks to gain a share of first place.