Saturday, January 05, 2013
Devil Dogged, Burlington 58 Melrose 50
Melrose traveled to Burlington for a rematch with the Lady Devils and despite a second half comeback, lost 58-50. Melrose falls to 1-5, 1-4 against Middlesex League competition.
Melrose came out with a plan to pressure the ball with full court individual assignment defense and a modification of their "Harvard" offense. Burlington broke down the defensive pressure to race out to a 6-0 lead and Melrose struggled with turnovers, predominantly on attempted post entry passes. Brooke Bell picked up her second foul with 4:04 to go in the first period, which took Melrose's best playmaker out of the game.
The first quarter went south from there, with Burlington leading 19-4 after one.
It didn't get better in the second quarter, as Melrose continued to struggle with Burlington's sagging pack-type defense, and the Lady Devils took a 35-14 lead into intermission.
Melrose began a second half comeback with Kayla Wyland scoring inside and Sydney Doherty firing in eight points in the first 4:28 of the third quarter. Burlington led 45-30 after three.
The Lady Raiders continued to build their comeback with good work from Kayla inside, and defensive pressure forcing Burlington turnovers. Melrose chipped away, getting the deficit down to three, but inside of four minutes, Burlington responded with key hoops from Mazure on a jumper from the left wing and a nifty power move from Jazmine Smith down the lane to get back to a seven point lead. Maave Moriarty responded with a jumper from the short corner, but Burlington got some key free throws from Sarah Hood late and reopened a ten point lead before a Sydney Doherty basket in the paint finished the scoring.
Game analysis: Burlington countered Melrose's in-game adjustments effectively, shredding the Melrose zone trap with a combination of easy baskets both inside (layups) and outside (three pointers). Burlington handled the extended defense easily with ball reversal or threw over the defense to the middle from which Burlington generated mismatches. They also out-rebounded the locals to generate inside points and free throws.
On the positive side, Melrose outscored Burlington 36-23 in the second half, resurrecting transition offense and better on-ball defense to force turnovers and bad shots. Seniors Kayla Wyland and Sydney Doherty both had solid offensive performances to lead the Melrose offense.
Melrose came out with a plan to pressure the ball with full court individual assignment defense and a modification of their "Harvard" offense. Burlington broke down the defensive pressure to race out to a 6-0 lead and Melrose struggled with turnovers, predominantly on attempted post entry passes. Brooke Bell picked up her second foul with 4:04 to go in the first period, which took Melrose's best playmaker out of the game.
The first quarter went south from there, with Burlington leading 19-4 after one.
It didn't get better in the second quarter, as Melrose continued to struggle with Burlington's sagging pack-type defense, and the Lady Devils took a 35-14 lead into intermission.
Melrose began a second half comeback with Kayla Wyland scoring inside and Sydney Doherty firing in eight points in the first 4:28 of the third quarter. Burlington led 45-30 after three.
The Lady Raiders continued to build their comeback with good work from Kayla inside, and defensive pressure forcing Burlington turnovers. Melrose chipped away, getting the deficit down to three, but inside of four minutes, Burlington responded with key hoops from Mazure on a jumper from the left wing and a nifty power move from Jazmine Smith down the lane to get back to a seven point lead. Maave Moriarty responded with a jumper from the short corner, but Burlington got some key free throws from Sarah Hood late and reopened a ten point lead before a Sydney Doherty basket in the paint finished the scoring.
Game analysis: Burlington countered Melrose's in-game adjustments effectively, shredding the Melrose zone trap with a combination of easy baskets both inside (layups) and outside (three pointers). Burlington handled the extended defense easily with ball reversal or threw over the defense to the middle from which Burlington generated mismatches. They also out-rebounded the locals to generate inside points and free throws.
On the positive side, Melrose outscored Burlington 36-23 in the second half, resurrecting transition offense and better on-ball defense to force turnovers and bad shots. Seniors Kayla Wyland and Sydney Doherty both had solid offensive performances to lead the Melrose offense.
// posted by Ron Sen, MD, FCCP @ 8:21 AM 
