After press time:
Melrose defeats Arlington 44-34 (Jan. 21)
Melrose falls to Stoneham (Jan. 17)
Melrose falls to Lexington 66-58 (Jan. 14)
Melrose falls to Wilmington 50-33 (Jan. 10)
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—It was the most exciting win of the season for the Melrose High girls varsity basketball team, who prevailed in an overtime thriller against league rival Winchester on Wednesday, January 8, at the Melrose Veteran’s Memorial gym, 54-51.
Melrose (3-6) excelled over the evening thanks to sharp foul line appearances and a collection of threes, both of which came from their experienced seniors, Scarlett D’Addio, who led in scoring with 15 points, Alex Leeman and Sofia Dicalogero (7 pts) and new talent including Ella Beshel (10 pts), Zoe Breay (13 pts)
“Winchester played a great game and shot extremely well in the 4th quarter. We were able to fend them off with solid defense and great foul shooting in over time (7-10) to pull out the win,” said Melrose head coach Andrea Razi-Thomas. “I was particularly proud of Scarlett [D’Addio] for leading us to that victory. She really took the game in her own hands in the 4th quarter when they made a run. She refused to lose, drawing fouls, getting to the line and producing points by knocking down her free throws.”
Melrose had a key third period effort that saw excellent defensive and offensive work from newer players such as Aisling Donegan, Zoe Breay and Olivia Dellaporta.
Notes the coach, “Strong bench play from junior guard Aisling and senior forward Olivia were key. It takes all 16 members of this team for us to be successful. Our bench was loud and brought energy that fueled us.”
Melrose held a lead in all but the first quarter, including a 25-22 lead at the half, but saw the Red and Black battle back with a minute left in the game to force overtime.
Melrose took an early lead of 5-0 thanks to sharp shooting from Scarlett D’Addio and Zoe Breay. Kayla Good went to the line and was perfect before Sofia DiCalogero drove through traffic twice to keep Melrose down just one, 11-12, at the end of the first.
Melrose broke out into a wider lead in the second behind a trey from Ella Beshel, and aggressive ball handing and defense from Alex Leeman, who was fed a ball from Zoe Breay for a layup, while another layup from Beshel pulled Melrose ahead, 18-14. Melrose was sent to the foul line and saw a strong offensive rebound by Breay who passed to D’Addio for a surprise basket. Breay wowed again with a basket and-one and was clean on the foul line to put Melrose up 25-22 at the half. Melrose enjoyed more solid shooting from Sofia DiCalogero, fed a great assist by Donegan, and Breay hit another three to keep Melrose up by ten, 34-24. Olivia Dellaporta and Donegan both forced turnovers and Leeman had clean shooting on the foul line to keep Melrose up 35-24 at the end of the third.
It was a straight out dogfight for Melrose in the fourth as Winchester slowly crept into the game. Despite great shooting from Melrose’s Beshel, Winchester forced Melrose turnovers for baskets that nearly tied it up 41-40. But Melrose was sharp on the foul line thanks to efforts from Scarlett D’Addio, who, after hitting a sharp outside basket, was sent to the line twice to tie the game up 45-45 and force overtime.
Melrose did a great job with the press in the 5th period, thanks to DiCalogero, who stole a Winchester ball and fed it to Breay for a basket to put Melrose up 49-47. And Melrose continued their sharp foul line shooting thanks to Breay, Alex Leeman and Scarlett D’Addio, who secured the win on the line to lift Melrose, 54-51.
“We went into overtime with confidence and poise, knocking down free throws,” says Razi-Thomas. “We lost confidence in the 4th when they went on a run, but Scarlett led us back into contention. After Scarlett worked her magic getting us into overtime, we were ready to pull it out in OT. That’s a true senior leader refusing to lose, followed by a team effort in overtime. There’s a lot of pressure on our seniors and they are rising to the challenge in our tough league. We were proud of our composure as the final seconds ticked away.”
Up next, Melrose will host Stoneham at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Says the coach, “The league is very competitive but we feel we can compete in nearly every game. Though we’d like to win them all, I see progress every single day with this hard-working group.”