Saturday, January 14, 2012
Friday the Thirteenth, Melrose Falls 38-34
Melrose traveled to Stoneham for a key tilt in the ML small division against Stoneham and came away on the short end 38-34. As a result the team drops to 4-5.
The game had a multiple personality disorder flavor to it, as the Lady Raiders played some of their best basketball of the season in the first period, racing out to a 19-12 first period lead with good ball movement, including crisp passing and only a pair of turnovers. The offensive outburst came off transition and freelance offense with good cutting and passing.
Then the wheels came off the wagon, as though a herd of black cats, broken mirrors, and ladders to be walked under appeared, although Melrose did manage to hold a four point half time (27-23) lead spurred on by ten points by Brooke Bell, five from Shannon Lahiff, and six from Jenny McGee.
Melrose came out quickly with a pair of hoops to go up eight, 31-23, and then inexplicably went into the most profound scoring funk in recent memory, as the team scored only three points in the final fourteen and a half minutes, largely attributable to a river of second half turnovers.
Melrose still managed a 31-28 lead after three, but nothing went right offensively after the two early hoops.
The fourth period saw Stoneham score an occasional hoop, and Melrose struggle in every imaginable way, including free throw shooting, although our biggest downfall was a total absence of field goals after the two early ones in the third frame.
Game analysis: If quality basketball starts with defense, then Melrose achieved some of its goals, holding Stoneham to fewer than forty points. But every team must generate some offense, even when the defense holds up. The half-court offense using a three-out two in 'scripted motion' or the one-four, double high post generated few quality possessions, so it's back to the drawing board.
The game had a multiple personality disorder flavor to it, as the Lady Raiders played some of their best basketball of the season in the first period, racing out to a 19-12 first period lead with good ball movement, including crisp passing and only a pair of turnovers. The offensive outburst came off transition and freelance offense with good cutting and passing.
Then the wheels came off the wagon, as though a herd of black cats, broken mirrors, and ladders to be walked under appeared, although Melrose did manage to hold a four point half time (27-23) lead spurred on by ten points by Brooke Bell, five from Shannon Lahiff, and six from Jenny McGee.
Melrose came out quickly with a pair of hoops to go up eight, 31-23, and then inexplicably went into the most profound scoring funk in recent memory, as the team scored only three points in the final fourteen and a half minutes, largely attributable to a river of second half turnovers.
Melrose still managed a 31-28 lead after three, but nothing went right offensively after the two early hoops.
The fourth period saw Stoneham score an occasional hoop, and Melrose struggle in every imaginable way, including free throw shooting, although our biggest downfall was a total absence of field goals after the two early ones in the third frame.
Game analysis: If quality basketball starts with defense, then Melrose achieved some of its goals, holding Stoneham to fewer than forty points. But every team must generate some offense, even when the defense holds up. The half-court offense using a three-out two in 'scripted motion' or the one-four, double high post generated few quality possessions, so it's back to the drawing board.
// posted by Ron Sen, MD, FCCP @ 6:47 AM 
