THE MELROSE Red Raider girls’ hoop team: Top left: Sofia Smith, Gia Vlajkovic, capt. Ella Brennan, Chloe Gentile, Ava Tormo, Meg Casey, Ava Burns. Bottom left: Lily Nolan, Emily Lucien, Scarlet D’Addio, Elaine Albuja, Lily Kavanaugh. (Photo by Raj Das edphotos.com)
8 wins for Melrose hoop is highest since 2019
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—You would never imagine that any team with a 1-9 record in January would be knocking on the Div. 2 playoff door in February, right? But chalk it up to the Melrose High girls’ basketball team who has, by all indication, completed a turnaround season that saw them finish 8-12 overall just as the buzzer sounds on the regular season. At press time, Melrose is seeded 38 in the Div. 2 playoff field, and only 32 teams will get into a Div. 2 playoff bracket (reminder: there are no longer Sectionals) and unless there is a massive reshuffling of teams still playing (cutoff date is Feb. 25) it may very well be that Melrose has closed out their 2021-22 season in the best way possible: winning 7 of their last 10 games.
Their last regular season game against Methuen last Thursday, Feb. 17 amounted in a 49-46 loss but was entirely winnable with the Red Raiders holding the lead at the half and down just two points with 18 seconds to go. Leading scoring was freshman Scarlett D’Addio with 14 points and juniors Chloe Gentile and Megan Casey with 10. Melrose fell victim to three straight 3 pointers from Methuen in the third that had them playing catch up, but a great 4th period run was spearheaded by Casey, D’Addio and Sofia Smith. Although Melrose had possession of the ball with less than 20 seconds left and were aiming for a game-tying three, they ran out of time to get it done, and finished their season in front of a well-attended home crowd on their feet to cheer Melrose’s remarkable season reversal.
Taking a win that night may have made entry into the Div. 2 field more probable, although the Div. 2 field is a bit of a mess, with Western MA teams with records of 5-12 and 5-15 records higher ranked than Melrose. That’s the new playoff system for you. Weeding out the bottom makes it sharper on top, but it’s not great when you’re in the middle of the pack looking to break through.
Melrose coach Bill Hirschfeld reflected on the team’s season and their Div. 2 seeding. “We played 9 Div. 1 teams: 6 league and 3 non-league teams, and we beat four of them. The Middlesex League is the toughest league out there, so any record like 8-12 or 9-12 is going to be deceptive. There’s an argument to be made that this team deserves entry in the Div. 2 field, for sure. But a couple more wins would have helped. The Methuen game, for instance, that should have been a win and probably a considerable one.”
Yet despite that initial 1-9 record in January, Melrose enjoyed a winning streak at the end of the month going into February with 7 wins out of 10 games. So, what changed?
“This team’s confidence and maturity,” says the coach. “First, we started generating just 30 points a game. Then it was in the 40s. Then we hit the 50s and didn’t look back. We reduced a lot of turnovers, although that’s something we still have to work on. But they found their footing, played better defense and also went to the line more and did well there. They just began to trust each other out there. We had a well-balanced offense with no one player having huge 30 point games. This team knew how to keep it balanced and it worked for us.”
As for their slow start? “We hit the brass of the league early on, and it was a lot for us out of the gate, since this was a team of pretty much all new starters. The season evolved. Now the brass of the league is playing other teams, while we went on a run. In some ways its better to face the Woburns, Readings, Lexingtons, early.”
He points to the nice surprises in new starters. “Having Chloe [Gentile] in the middle helped, plus juniors Megan Casey and Sofia Smith who took command out there. Scarlet [D’Addio] was a good find for a freshman and she really turned the corner in the last few weeks of play. And all these players are all back, which is good for us.”
Hirschfeld continues. “Without a doubt, having every starter back is a big advantage, but we also have some good players off the bench and quality JV or freshman players that can really help our campaign.”
With all their underclass starters returning, including junior captain Gia Vlajkovic, its safe to say Melrose is a team to watch next year. Says Hirschfeld, “A lot of Middlesex teams are losing maybe 4 seniors and starters. That certainly puts us at an advantage.”
Until then, Melrose says goodbye to their two seniors: captain Ella Brennan and senior Ava Burns. They both brought unique experience and energy to the team that led to a well-bonded club on and off the court. Hirschfeld credited Brennan and Burns for their leadership as varsity players. “They were very good teammates and good kids. And they knew how to set the tone at practice, support their teammates and lend their knowledge when we needed it.”
Final brackets can be found at: www.miaa.net under “Power Rankings.” Melrose finishes their season behind Wakefield, Watertown and Burlington for 4th place in the Middlesex Freedom League over Wilmington and Stoneham, with designs next year to advance upwards.