JUNIOR CHLOE Gentile had 10 points against Burlington as Melrose girls’ basketball rides a three-game winning streak. (Photo by Raj Das, edphotos.com)
3 straight wins results in most victories since 2019
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—Don’t look now, but the Melrose High girl’s basketball team is on a three-game winning streak, and it’s one that has them already surpassing season win totals dating back to 2019-20.
At 6-11, Melrose has fought back from a meager 0-6 start to the season with convincing wins, including two over key ML Freedom rivals Burlington and Wilmington just this week. Melrose beat both teams in super-charged offensive efforts including a 53-46 win over Wilmington and a 53-49 win over Burlington, two teams that defeated Melrose in their first round of play in December and January.
What a difference a month makes.
Everything switched around Jan. 14 when Melrose picked up their first win of the season against Stoneham. Since then, Melrose has won 5 out of their last 7 games and three straight that puts them in mathematical contention for playoffs. With Stoneham and Malden on tap (two teams Melrose beat this season) and non-league Methuen to close the regular season, it’s conceivable Melrose could qualify for playoffs based on strength of schedule, even if their final season record dips below .500. That’s the nature of these new power rating systems and they benefit schools like Melrose who devote a generous portion of their season against Division 1-2 teams. Look for Melrose to jump up a good pace in MIAA power ratings, expected to be released this week.
Melrose’s winning streak began with a ML Freedom win over Burlington on the road on on Feb. 4 and extended with a win of the road at home on Tuesday night. Their victory over Burlington was all the more impressive given Burlington’s standout player Livvy Pena had a staggering 34 points. How does an underdog team beat that? For starters, use a wide option of double-digit point scorers. And that came in the form of juniors Sofia Smith and Chloe Gentile, who had 11 and 10 points respectively, and plenty of help from Megan Casey and Gia Vlajkovic (both with 9) plus Lily Nolan (8 pts) and frosh Scarlet D’Addio (6) with additional help from bench scorers. Melrose saw deficits of 20-12 at the end of the first, and 31-21 at the half. But all bets were off in the second half when Melrose went on a monster run in the third behind 8 points from Chloe Gentile and four from Scarlet D’Addio. While Burlington had a 41-35 lead going into the fourth, Melrose would outscore the Red Devils 18-11 behind the work of Sofia Smith, Megan Casey, Lily Nolan and Gia Vlajkovic.
It was sophomore Lily Nolan who clinched the game with a three pointer to put Melrose over the top.
In between these games Melrose also beat a frankly overwhelmed Malden, 44-19, last Saturday morning at the MVMMS gym. It was the most spread out offensive effort to date this season thanks to the work of Sofia Smith, Megan Casey, Ava Tormo, Elaine Albuja and Ava Burns.
And perhaps their most impressive team win to date was their home victory over Wilmington on Tuesday evening by a score of 53-46. Despite opening to a slow start, and a 10-14 deficit at the end of the first, Melrose scrapped their way to a 18-17 lead behind the work of Ava Tormo (6pts), Gia Vlajkovic (8 pts), Lily Nolan and Sofia Smith. The second half saw strong work from Smith (10pts) who nailed a three to put Melrose up 32-25, two baskets from Chloe Gentile (6 pts) and cool work from Megan Casey (9 pts) on the foul line. Scarlet D’Addio (9pts) went on a tear early in the fourth nailing two threes to put Melrose up 45-39. Megan Casey also came up clutch drawing an and-one and delivering on the foul line. Melrose would take the impressive win, 55-46.
Over the course of these three wins, Melrose has seen a spread out offensive input, including over twenty points from Sofia Smith (30) Megan Casey (25) Scarlet D’Addio (21) and Chloe Gentile (20) with plenty of help from Lily Nolan and Gia Vlajkovic. It puts Melrose in the right spot as they make the final lap of the regular season.
This Friday evening may be the most anticipated game of all: Senior Night. Melrose will honor their two seniors Ella Brennan and Ava Burns at 7:00 p.m. Come root these girls on at home at the MVMMS gym.
Remaining Schedule
Wed. 2/16
@Malden, 6
Thurs. 2/17
v. Methuen, 7