Monday, June 23, 2008
BC Tournament: Long, Hot Summer
Through the years, the summer basketball experience has evolved. Recently, the Lady Raiders have played in the Hoops for Hope summer league with powers like Andover, Central Catholic and Masconomet, and competed in selected tournaments at area colleges.
This weekend, some of the players traveled to Chestnut Hill for the Boston College Camp tournament, featuring ten teams in seeding and tournament play. The team played one game Friday and three Saturday, going 4-0 and landing them the second seed behind a powerful Rutherford, NJ team.
Melrose defeated Concord-Carlisle by nineteen, Franklin (a perennial D1 leader in the South) by nine, and Dana Hall by fifty to come out undefeated through Saturday.
Sunday, Melrose blew out Northfield Mount Herman in the quarterfinal match, pounded Franklin by 20 in the rematch on BC's main court, and outlasted Rutherford 30-27 in a slowdown slugfest to finish 7-0 with the tournament championship.
All the players participating were effective, in various roles. Colleen Hanscom, Nicki Devereaux, and Nicole Meuse played consistently at both ends, and the frontcourt including Hannah Brickley, Sienna Mamayek, Laura Irwin, Annmarie Wiesen, Christine Viola, Amanda Peters, and Ashley Cunningham all consistently contributed.
In the semifinal contest, Franklin featured a two-three zone that the Lady Raiders shredded with pinpoint interior passing.
In the final, Melrose led 18-17 at the half, before Rutherford took the lead by one late in the game. Hannah Brickley scored a tough bucket underneath to give the Lady Raiders the lead, and Nicole Meuse iced the victory with a pair of clutch free throws on a one-and-one with about 20 seconds left.
Colleen Hanscom controlled the game from the point, and Nicki Devereaux played terrific defense before going out with an injury. Nicole Meuse filled in ably for her in the backcourt as everyone got valuable experience in a game that lacked only a sizable crowd to simulate action deep in the postseason. Brickley, Mamayek, Irwin, and Wiesen battled the bigger Rutherford squad toe-to-toe and Viera had a key steal late in the contest as well.
What was most impressive was the effort and intensity that the team has put forth in the past several summers in particular. The players have always shown plenty of dedication, but the emphasis recently has improved the overall team play.
The only negative that emerged was several Melrose players getting banged up with a variety of injuries that we hope are minor.
This weekend, some of the players traveled to Chestnut Hill for the Boston College Camp tournament, featuring ten teams in seeding and tournament play. The team played one game Friday and three Saturday, going 4-0 and landing them the second seed behind a powerful Rutherford, NJ team.
Melrose defeated Concord-Carlisle by nineteen, Franklin (a perennial D1 leader in the South) by nine, and Dana Hall by fifty to come out undefeated through Saturday.
Sunday, Melrose blew out Northfield Mount Herman in the quarterfinal match, pounded Franklin by 20 in the rematch on BC's main court, and outlasted Rutherford 30-27 in a slowdown slugfest to finish 7-0 with the tournament championship.
All the players participating were effective, in various roles. Colleen Hanscom, Nicki Devereaux, and Nicole Meuse played consistently at both ends, and the frontcourt including Hannah Brickley, Sienna Mamayek, Laura Irwin, Annmarie Wiesen, Christine Viola, Amanda Peters, and Ashley Cunningham all consistently contributed.
In the semifinal contest, Franklin featured a two-three zone that the Lady Raiders shredded with pinpoint interior passing.
In the final, Melrose led 18-17 at the half, before Rutherford took the lead by one late in the game. Hannah Brickley scored a tough bucket underneath to give the Lady Raiders the lead, and Nicole Meuse iced the victory with a pair of clutch free throws on a one-and-one with about 20 seconds left.
Colleen Hanscom controlled the game from the point, and Nicki Devereaux played terrific defense before going out with an injury. Nicole Meuse filled in ably for her in the backcourt as everyone got valuable experience in a game that lacked only a sizable crowd to simulate action deep in the postseason. Brickley, Mamayek, Irwin, and Wiesen battled the bigger Rutherford squad toe-to-toe and Viera had a key steal late in the contest as well.
What was most impressive was the effort and intensity that the team has put forth in the past several summers in particular. The players have always shown plenty of dedication, but the emphasis recently has improved the overall team play.
The only negative that emerged was several Melrose players getting banged up with a variety of injuries that we hope are minor.
// posted by Ron Sen, MD, FCCP @ 6:26 PM 
