Published in the March 9, 2018 edition
PELHAM, NH—The Melrose Middle School’s seventh-grade girls’ basketball team finished their winning season as champions of the River Valley Tournament when they swept the field in their playoff bracket. The squad fought in a weekend battle in Pelham, NH and prevailed in three games unbeaten.
Melrose, coached by Emily Williams, plays in the competitive River Valley League against top teams north of Boston. Suited up for Melrose this season were forward Elaine Albuja, guard Madeleine Brodeur, guard Megan Casey, center Chloe Gentile, center Kara Foucher, point guard Talya Hamberg, guard Matia Kaliris, point guard Meghan Maher, center Dikate O’Neill, point guard Sofia Smith, forward Lindsey Teevan and guard Saniyah Watson.
To get to finals, Melrose prevailed over Newburyport, 49-27, on Saturday, March 3. Megan Casey had a game-high 19 points for Melrose, including several three-pointers, helping Melrose to advanced to face Georgetown on Sunday.
Round two was just as competitive, with Melrose prevailing over Georgetown, 40-34. Melrose balanced fast breaks and slowdowns while reading the court well and adjusting their offense to minimize turnovers. According to coach Williams, Melrose utilized a new set of offensive plays designed to thwart opposing teams’ defensive plans. Over the weekend, they implemented them flawlessly.
In finals, Melrose pulled off a nail-biter over rival North Reading, who edged Melrose by one basket in the regular season. This time, Melrose prevailed by one point, in a 32-31 down-to-the-wire thriller that saw double-digit baskets by Elaine Albuja and 12 points/3 blocks from Chloe Gentile. Sofia Smith used intelligent defense and quick thinking to limit North Reading’s star player to one point. Talya Hamert was a force on drives to the basket and assists, and Melrose Lindsey Teeven was a strong presence under the net.
This was coach Emily William’s first season coaching and, as a self-admitted “rookie”, she considers herself blessed to have this Melrose team as her first. “I’m in awe of how much these kids taught me. They are the kindest, funniest, and the most wonderful group of girls that I could’ve received for this season and I’m amazed by them,” she said. “I watched them develop as individual basketball players and as a team. These twelve girls click together. As long as they work hard and with heart, they will become amazing basketball athletes and even better people than they already are.”