Friday, January 20, 2012
Halfway Done, Halfway Won, Melrose 39 Watertown 35
Melrose hosted Watertown (7-2) and Melrose's experience carried them past the young visitors 39-35, to even their record at 5-5.
Melrose needed to rebound from last week's disappointing loss to Stoneham, and came out playing aggressive defense, but struggled under the burden of turnovers. The offense showed some rust, scoreless for almost the first three minutes, followed by some inside work by Jill Slabacheski and Kayla Wyland. But the key to the game, was Brooke Bell's stifling defense on last year's top ML rookie, Gabriella Coppola. Bell stymied Coppola's penetration and dish game and the Watertown star was held far below her usual average. Melrose led 14-11 after one.
The second stanza saw some stagnation of the Melrose offense, as they scored a solitary hoop on a Rachel Johnson jumper, while Kayla Wyland went 5-6 from the line en route to 9 first half points. Melrose led 21-15 at halftime, over the 'diaper dandies' of Watertown, which had four frosh and a pair of sophomores among their top six.
Watertown crept closer in the third, as Melrose continued a scoring drought. Melrose led 29-25 after three.
The fourth period had more energy and both teams battled for possible victory. Bell continued to hound Coppola, and Shannon Lahiff hit a key trey to give Melrose a five point lead late. Watertown brought it to within three, but Melrose was able to convert a late free throw for the final 39-35 margin. Kayla Wyland put up a career high fourteen points and did some good work on the boards.
Game Analysis: Melrose was able to contain the turnovers after a slow start, but the key to the game was aggressive defense, holding a potent Watertown offense down via good transition defense and individual defensive achievement from Brooke Bell. On the front end, Kayla Wyland's tenacity and touch provided the margin of victory.
Melrose needed to rebound from last week's disappointing loss to Stoneham, and came out playing aggressive defense, but struggled under the burden of turnovers. The offense showed some rust, scoreless for almost the first three minutes, followed by some inside work by Jill Slabacheski and Kayla Wyland. But the key to the game, was Brooke Bell's stifling defense on last year's top ML rookie, Gabriella Coppola. Bell stymied Coppola's penetration and dish game and the Watertown star was held far below her usual average. Melrose led 14-11 after one.
The second stanza saw some stagnation of the Melrose offense, as they scored a solitary hoop on a Rachel Johnson jumper, while Kayla Wyland went 5-6 from the line en route to 9 first half points. Melrose led 21-15 at halftime, over the 'diaper dandies' of Watertown, which had four frosh and a pair of sophomores among their top six.
Watertown crept closer in the third, as Melrose continued a scoring drought. Melrose led 29-25 after three.
The fourth period had more energy and both teams battled for possible victory. Bell continued to hound Coppola, and Shannon Lahiff hit a key trey to give Melrose a five point lead late. Watertown brought it to within three, but Melrose was able to convert a late free throw for the final 39-35 margin. Kayla Wyland put up a career high fourteen points and did some good work on the boards.
Game Analysis: Melrose was able to contain the turnovers after a slow start, but the key to the game was aggressive defense, holding a potent Watertown offense down via good transition defense and individual defensive achievement from Brooke Bell. On the front end, Kayla Wyland's tenacity and touch provided the margin of victory.
// posted by Ron Sen, MD, FCCP @ 11:25 PM 
