After press time: Melrose falls to Winchester 54-33 (Jan. 2)
By JENNIFER GENTILE
READING—After a difficult opening schedule, the Melrose High girls’ basketball team earned a win over the holidays with a well-earned victory against Danvers at a holiday tournament against opponents Danvers and Beverly on Dec. 27 and Dec. 29 at host North Reading High. There, Melrose advanced to finals following a 42-27 win on opening day.
It was a game that saw spread out offense from Lily Nolan, Sophia DiCalogero and Lara McLucas, who all had 9 points. Alex Leeman played solid defense and had 7 points. Melrose had sent to the floor their starters, junior Alex Leeman, junior capt. Scarlett D’Addio, junior Sophia DiCalogero, senior capt. Lily Nolan and sophomore Kayla Good.
Melrose had doubled their offensive output from previous games, which paved way to victory. And that was the plan, according to coach Andrea Razi-Thomas. “One of our goals for the game was to increase [our offensive output] and we did that. At practices, we worked a lot on pushing the ball in transition and our offensive sets as well. We were able to score both on fast breaks and in our half court offense. We were unselfish.”
Melrose took an early 6-0 lead against Danvers with an energetic and strong defensive start, but the Falcons kept it close in the first half. Melrose continued their balanced scoring and had a strong defensive showing that led to them keeping Danvers at 11 points for the whole half.
“Our strategy going into the game was to pressure them defensively, mixing up calls on that end to fluster their ball handlers,” says Razi-Thomas. “Their best player was sophomore post player Angie Djoko who is a powerful force inside. We hoped to limit her touches by pressuring guards. We were able to do that often, and our sophomore post player Kayla Good also had an excellent game defensively on Djoko.”
That advanced them to the championship game on Friday against Beverly. Melrose had an early 12-7 lead to start and good defense overall but fell 38-28. However, afterwards, senior captain Lily Nolan made the All-Tournament team with 18 points. Says her coach, “She had two great games, strong rebounding and great defense. She’s a vocal leader and real bright spot for this young team.”
Melrose sophomore Kayla Good also made the All- Tournament team for her stellar play. “Kayla was chosen for her rebounding and defense, playing with an intensity that rivals all. She gets to every 50-50 ball and can be seen diving for any lose ball with reckless abandon,” says her coach.
While Melrose is 1-4 in their early season there have been many points of strength. An early, welcomed surprise is the play of Kayla Good in the post. Says Razi-Thomas, “She’s playing with confidence and comfort with new teammates and coaches alike.”
Sophia DiCalogero has been the team’s leading scorer to start the season. Notes the coach, “She’s developing into a consistent scorer with confidence on the offensive end.”
It was a tougher opening to the season when Melrose fell 0-3 early against tough Middlesex League opponents Wakefield, Belmont and Reading. But there was much to be learned.
“We need to compete with pace and force at practice that is game-like. We need to push the ball on offense and score more, so we’re getting shooting reps at practice. We need to keep opponents’ scores down and do a better job at keeping them off the glass.”
After traveling to Winchester on Tuesday, Melrose hosts a big game this Friday evening against Burlington at home at 7:30 p.m. Look for Melrose to be primed to pick up another win against the Red Devils (0-4).
“There is a lot of hope and positivity in this group,” says the coach. “The team is finding joy in working hard and seeing gains in their team and individual skills every day.”