Melrose Lady Raiders Basketball

Melrose continued its road swing with a 59-51 loss at Stoneham. The loss drops Melrose to 1-13 and raised Stoneham's record to 8-7.

Stoneham raced out to a 14-1 lead, capitalizing on a flurry of threes from Grace Macura (19 points). Melrose responded and closed to within 19-10 at the quarter.

Melrose continued to chip away at the Stoneham lead but the hosts continued to lead 32-25 at the break.

Stoneham extended the lead to as much as thirteen in the second half, but Melrose hung in there, closing to within four points with about four minutes to go. But three consecutive turnovers allowed Stoneham to open up a ten point lead and hold on to win.

Jill MacInnes was outstanding in defeat, unofficially leading Melrose with seventeen points including ten in the fourth quarter. Sarah Foote also helped keep Melrose competitive, and Katey Sullivan did some good work underneath for the Lady Raiders.

Melrose faced once-beaten Woburn tonight on the road and came up on the short end 58-39.

The loss brings Melrose's record to 1-12.


They will continue their road swing Friday against Stoneham.

Steve Pacheco gives his expert take on Middlesex League basketball.

Melrose hosted Reading, playing a very competitive basketball game before dropping a 60-51 decision to the visiting Liberty Division foe. Despite a strong effort, Melrose falls to 1-11.

Melrose got off to a quick start with early hoops from Jill MacInnes and Caroline Sullivan to lead 4-0, only to see the Rockets go on an 18-7 run to lead 18-11 after one.

Melrose narrowed the lead to six at 31-25 by half-time, as Reading had a tiger by the tail as Freshman Cat Torpey had thirteen of her career high nineteen points. Melrose hung in with their box-and-one defense and playing conservative defense, not allowing the Rockets to score consistently in transition.

The second half saw Melrose narrow the gap, coming as close as one with about five minutes left in the contest. But Reading's experience and deadly free throw shooting allowed them to pull away in the final couple of minutes.

Katie Sullivan had another solid game in the post with double figures and fellow junior Ashley Harding had a pair of three pointers as did sophomore Sarah Foote.

Keys to the Game: Freshman Cat Torpey's monster effort included six blocks and numerous intimidated shots as the youngster dominated. She got plenty of help inside from Sullivan and Harding, and Melrose was solid on the boards. Melrose played with a shortened rotation which may have allowed for better game flow.

Reading won with three-point shooting, outstanding free throw shooting, good interior passing, and more experience in tight games.

The game marked the first fifty point effort of the season for the Lady Raiders.

Melrose opened up the second half of the season a day late with a snow postponement, hosting Lexington and dropping a 67-45 contest thanks to a fourth quarter explosion from Lexington sophomore Anna Kelly.

In Switch: How to Change When Change Is Hard, the Heath brothers note the importance of 1) finding the bright spots, 2) scripting the journey, and 3) pointing to the future. Despite the final score, Melrose had its moments during the game, with the game tied at 43 with 7:00 remaining on the clock.

Lexington came out fast with an 18-8 first period edge. They used transition offense and aggressive defense to get easy shots and force Melrose turnovers. Melrose generally held its own for the first half of the frame with some box-and-one defense on Lexington's star.

Melrose turned things around in the second quarter, outscoring Lexington 16-7 as they took better care of the ball and had a very respectable 11/25 (.440) shooting percentage. Six Jill MacInnes points (13 overall) had a big part in the turnaround. When Melrose was able to get the ball into the paint, they controlled the game. Getting Kelly into foul trouble was another key for Melrose.

Lexington forced a pair of turnovers to open up the second half, going up 29-24, only to see Melrose fight its way back to trail 33-22 before Lexington went on an 8-0 run to lead 41-32 with 1:05 in the period. Melrose rallied to close to within five (43-38) with good work from Katie Sullivan (8 points), Ashley Harding (12 rebounds, 6 points) and Sarah Foote (8 points, 4 steals).

The fourth quarter started innocuously enough with Melrose scoring the first five points to even the score at 43. Then, Anna Kelly literally took over the game, slashing to the basket, scoring or drawing fouls, sparking Lexington to a 24-2 run, including a 14-0 run over 1:55.

Once again the culprit was turnovers as Melrose committed forty-three, fifteen in the final stanza, robbing them of valuable offensive possessions and allowing Lexington to convert steals into points.

Melrose unofficially shot 20-51 from the field (almost forty percent) but only got to the free throw line six times, going two for six. Freshman Leonora Ivers had four assists and sophomore Allie Bornstein had three assists.

Game Notes: The defeat drops Melrose to 1-10 on the season with their tenth consecutive loss. Coach Lindsay Shanahan looks for solutions to get the Lady Raiders back in the win column. Melrose hosts Reading Friday at 7:00 P.M.

We return to our basic themes of spacing, cutting and passing, screening, and ball movement. Here's an example of the type of content available at Melrosegirlsbasketball.com/blog. I use multiple sources to develop various themes. Hoop Tactics is just one.


If post entry isn't available (the 4 must have passing skills), then ball reversal can occur, with the 4 cutting for a pass or continuing through to screen for the 5 who can cut to either the low or high post depending on the defense and the 5's skill set.

Melrose struggled to score, with twelve first half points, but stayed in the game playing a box-and-one and getting Watertown into foul trouble.  The Lady Raiders trailed by eight at the half and eleven (35-24) after three quarters, but came up short.


Around the league...

Cross-posted from the Melrose Girls Basketball blog. People ask me why I track statistics to monitor game performance, trends, and improvement. I ask why you wouldn't.

The first battle of former Lady Raiders as coaches went to Wakefield, as Meghan O'Connell's Lady Warriors handed Lindsay Shanahan's Lady Raiders their eighth consecutive loss 46-38. The win elevates Wakefield to 6-5.

Melrose's decision to go with three-quarter court trap through the first quarter proved disastrous as Wakefield went up quickly 9-2 and led after one period 20-9. Opening up the floor gave the Warriors uncontested threes and points in transition. That proved to be a margin that Melrose could not overcome despite production from multiple sources.

Melrose finally went into man-to-man defense and was able to play Wakefield even for the rest of the evening. Wakefield led 27-18 at the half and 35-24 after three, and was able to hold Melrose off, although Melrose got as close as six at 37-31 with 3:32 remaining and 43-36 with 40 ticks left on the clock.

The positive differences tonight included Melrose's edge on the boards and fewer turnovers as the Lady Raiders had 21 miscues, well down from their average.

Unofficially, Melrose was able to fire off 55 shots tonight as a result, converting on 12, and also made 11 for 20 (55 percent) from the free throw line.

Cat Torpey had 10 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks, and a steal, Katey Sullivan had 13 points and 9 rebounds, and Maeve Moriarty had 9 points. Ashley Harding had 7 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Sullivan had 3 Performance Ratings System points and Torpey had 12 (including 10 on blocked shots).

The loss drops Melrose to 1-8 as they travel to face first place Watertown Friday night.

Game Analysis: After Melrose abandoned the extended defense, they were able to force Wakefield into far fewer uncontested shots, and Wakefield turned the ball over repeatedly trying to get into their offense featuring back cuts and generally shot poorly after a hot first frame. Melrose was able to use their size advantage inside but couldn't make enough shots tonight.

Melrose continued its recent homestand with Alumnae Night, celebrating former Lady Raiders, including Coach Lindsay Shanahan and Freshman Coach Lynley DeAmato. Burlington had other plans though, using a 20-2 third quarter run to extend Melrose's losing streak to seven games and dropping the Lady Raiders to 1-7.

The first half was competitive, tied at 10 after the first quarter and Melrose trailing 25-22 at the half. Olivia Smith and Caroline Sullivan both had four points in the half to keep the game close.

Basketball analyst Dean Oliver of the Denver Nuggets has shown four prime statistical correlates to winning basketball - shooting percentage differential, turnovers, rebounding, and free throws attempted. The ability to make quality shots and deny easy baskets is the first and largest factor in developing winning teams. Rebounding and turnovers are "possession stats" reflecting a team's ability to get and maintain possessions. Melrose shot 8 for 22 during the first half which allowed them to hang around despite fifteen first half turnovers.

Coach Bob Knight says it's the first five minutes of the second half that are the most important in the game, tracking coaching and team adjustments. Burlington came out of intermission with a 16-0 run in the first 3:45 and a 20-2 run overall en route to a 23-7 third quarter advantage. They forced ten Melrose turnovers (33 for the game) and hurt Melrose badly on the boards as Melrose couldn't achieve even fifty percent defensive rebounding percentage as the Lady Devils iced the game.

In the final few minutes of the game, Melrose switched to individual assignment defense, creating more defensive pressure and allowing the Lady Raiders to keep the game a bit closer. Sara Foote had a pair of threes, along with a pair of steals and two assists, Caroline Sullivan had her best game with eight points, Jill MacInnes added seven points and five rebounds, and Ashley Harding had six points and five rebounds.

Melrose shot a respectable 16 for 45 (.355) from the field and continued sub .500 from the line shooting 5 for 12. The defense came up with nine steals including four by Jill MacInnes. Sarah Foote had plus five on the PRS. The PRS is not a plus-minus system for time on the court, but rather assesses positive (made shots, made free throws, rebounds, assists, charges taken, screens leading to basket, turnovers forced, steals, blocked shots, held balls forced, saves, etc.) and negative (missed shots, missed free throws, turnovers, charges given). A player having an outstanding game can get into the twenties, excellent in the teens, and of course a good game earns more positive PRS points.

Game analysis: Basketball teams win by denying easy baskets, taking care of the ball, and dominating on the boards. Potent offenses either score in transition, have strong shooting, or efficient passing setting up easy shots. Melrose shot better than they had, keeping the defeat under twenty points. Burlington won the game with turnovers and by dominating the offensive glass.

To give themselves a chance to win, Melrose is going to half to tighten up the defensive boards, reduce turnovers dramatically, contest more outside shots without fouling, and improve their free throw shooting. Melrose has become a "zone team" and zone defenses have two primary weaknesses, vulnerability to transition and lack of individual rebounding assignment and both showed again last night.

Melrose (1-6) looks to snap its six game losing streak tomorrow night, hosting Freedom Division opponent Burlington.

Burlington has faced the 'iron' of the Middlesex League, the top two clubs - Watertown and Woburn.

Coach Lindsay Shanahan's squad seeks solutions to nagging problems of turnovers, transition defense, inconsistent free throw shooting, and developing an "early offense".

A substantial part of the turnover problem occurs against the press. Retired Indiana Coach Bob Knight (three time National Champion winner) often went with the advantage-disadvantage theme to acclimatize his teams to pressure. For example, they might practice 5 versus 7, sometimes disallowing dribbling during breaking the press as well. This forces better passing and better cutting. Creative coaches find solutions through custom-designed drills to create 'automatic' behavior.

For more basketball education and tips, the Melrose Girls Basketball site has over a thousand educational posts.

Melrose dropped its sixth straight game, falling to 1-6 with a 44-23 defeat from visiting Wilmington.

Find the bright spots. That's the advice from the Heath brothers in Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard.

Melrose hosted Wilmington and was able to keep the game competitive in the first half, trailing only 17-13 thanks to energy provided by freshmen Cat Torpey and Leonora Ivers. Melrose played its 1-2-2 defense more aggressively, contesting more Wildcat shots and forcing errors. Ashley Harding also had five rebounds.

The brightest spot for Melrose was Cat Torpey, who had ten rebounds including six offensive, and finished with a solid 15 Performance Rating System points, including five blocks and three steals. She also altered numerous Wilmington shots, unaccounted for in my system. Her RIM PROTECTION was a significant factor in keeping Melrose in the contest early.

But twenty-four first half turnovers meant that Melrose could hoist up only fourteen shots, and converting only four kept Melrose in deficit.

The Wildcats took the game out of reach in the third period, outscoring Melrose 12-4, before finishing the rout with a 15-6 advantage in the final frame.

For the game Melrose could only generate thirty-three shots, sinking eight. The Lady Raiders were 7 for 16 from the free throw line as well. Torpey and Ivers led Melrose with five points apiece.

Once again turnovers were the story, as Melrose turned the ball over forty-five times.

No details available.

The Lady Raiders dropped their fifth consecutive game, traveling to Tewksbury for a matinee. The loss brings Melrose's record to 1-5. They host Wilmington Tuesday.


For basketball education, drills, leadership information, and perspective nearly 1200 posts here.

Melrose got back in action after vacation and snow postponements, dropping a 56-37 decision to Stoneham at the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School gym.

The defeat drops Melrose to 1-4, 1-3 in the Middlesex League.

The game was competitive early, after Stoneham got out to an early 9-3 advantage. Fourteen first quarter turnovers proved costly en route to a 14-9 deficit.

Freshman Cat Torpey made her varsity debut in the second quarter, and during two quarters of action made her presence felt with four points, seven rebounds, and an assist. She brought energy to floor during her play. Using my Performance Rating System (PRS) looking at offensive and defensive metrics, she graded out at plus 8, second only to Katey Sullivan who graded at plus 9. This is NOT adjusted for minutes played.

Nonetheless, Stoneham led 32-18 at the half, with Melrose's 22 turnovers an important factor. Stoneham also burned Melrose's 1-2-2 zone with uncontested outside shots and struggled to get its running game going.

In the second half, Stoneham opened up a 50-26 edge, before Melrose's 11-6 advantage in the fourth brought the game to 56-37.

Unofficially, Melrose was 14 for 36 from the floor, and 8 for 19 from the free throw line. Melrose had 30 turnovers, five assists, and two blocked shots.

Find the bright spots. Junior forward Katey Sullivan had some good moments offensively as indicated in her double figures PRS.

A source reported to me that tonight's game against Stoneham was rescheduled for 4 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday) with the JV game scheduled for 2 P.M.