Olivia Dziadyk foul shot the difference in a 51-50 thriller
OLIVIA DZIADYK, a junior guard, recorded a team high 13 points, including the game-winning free throw with no time left on the clock in a 51-50 victory for the Warriors. (Donna Larsson Photo)
Published in the February 13, 2017 edition.
By DAN BYRNE
WAKEFIELD — On Friday night, the Charbonneau Field House was packed with fans for the doubleheader between Melrose and Wakefield.
It was déjà vu for the Warrior girls’ varsity basketball team at the end of the game. Not only did the girls knock off Melrose for a second time this season, they did so in an unusual fashion. Olivia Dziadyk stepped to the free-throw line with no time on the clock and made the first of two attempts, giving the Warriors a one-point win, 51-50.
It might seem like an unlikely scenario, but this is not the first time they’ve won a game that way this season. Earlier in the year, in a game at Burlington, Emma Butler hit a free-throw after being fouled with no time on the clock, giving the Warriors a one-point win.
Against Melrose on Friday, the Warriors got off to a slow start. Melrose jumped out front thanks in part to Alexis Doherty’s 11 point first quarter for the Red Raiders. Wakefield Head Coach Meg O’Connell had this to say about the sharpshooting guard from Melrose.
“She’s a great player and our scouting report said don’t let her get open shots, and we let her get too many open shots in the first half. In the second half we rotated some of our more athletic defenders on her, and she seemed like she had a quieter second half.”
For Wakefield, junior Hailey Lovell was just about the only one making the offense work. She had six of her 10 points in the first for Wakefield. Melrose led 16-11 after the first quarter.
Wakefield failed to make any progress in the second quarter, as it only managed to put nine points up on the board. Melrose was standing on solid ground with a 30-20 halftime lead, but the momentum shifted in the third quarter.
After halftime, the Warriors went on a run in the third quarter thanks in large part to strong defending and a nine point effort in the frame by junior guard Olivia Dziadyk.
She got things going with a three-pointer early on, and made the most of her effort, capping the quarter with a second bucket from downtown.
Senior Brianna Smith had 4 of her nine points coming in the third quarter.
With one quarter to play, Wakefield trailed by just one point, 41-40.
The fourth quarter was never more than a three point game, with Wakefield only leading by one for a brief time.
In the end, free-throw shooting became the key, although the trend and the result don’t appear to match up.
Wakefield shot just 9-for-25 from the line for the game, while Melrose shot 15-for-26.
It was free-throws down the stretch that made the difference. Melrose was 9-for-15 from the line in the fourth
quarter, while Wakefield shot just 3-for-11.
However, Melrose did not have a field goal in the fourth quarter. Wakefield got baskets from Butler, Dziadyk, and Purcell’s late put-back tied the game at 50-50.
With just seconds to go, Wakefield had a chance to win the game. The initial shot went over the rim. A first put back came out, and a scrum for the rebound ensued. In the heap, a shot went up, the buzzer went off, the shot came out, but the whistle had blown.
The refs put Dziadyk at the line with a chance at two shots with 0:00 showing on the clock in a 50-50 game. Dziadyk nailed the first free-throw and sent the Red Raiders back to Melrose with nothing to show for their efforts.
The win capped off a fantastic evening for the girls’ basketball team. The Warriors held their Senior Night ceremony and honored team manager Jen Synan with an honorary introduction.
“What a great atmosphere for high school basketball,” O’Connell said following the win. “It’s Senior Night, you got the Melrose/Wakefield rivalry, and it’s just such a fun night.
“I’m really pleased with how we came out of halftime and defended,” remarked O’Connell, citing her team’s defensive efforts in their comeback win. “I think we held them to three or four field goals in the second half.”
O’Connell couldn’t heap enough praise on her team for all their efforts, “Just a great night all around. Win or lose, our girls fought so hard to come back in that game. We talk about playing hard ‘til that last buzzer and they did.”
She highlighted some individuals she recalled having an impact in the game.
“Hannah Dziadyk had a strong game for us defensively and handling the ball,” said the coach. “She did a great job handling the ball under pressure. Just go right down the line, Emma had a huge basket late. Julia Hanley came in and rebounded really well. Ally Coggswell found her shot tonight, she knocked down a couple outside shots there that were big. Allee Purcell had a big night and scored the basket to tie it at 50. I thought Hannah Butler gave us good minutes in the second half.”
It was an overwhelmingly positive night, with a fantastic finish, now the team must regroup for a pair of home games this week on Tuesday and Thursday.
“I think Geno Auriemma said once that it’s easier to fix things after a win,” said coach O’Connell, “We still have things we have to fix. We want to be able to play more consistently for 32 minutes, but to be able to come back and get the win is just huge for us.”
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WAKEFIELD 51,
Melrose 50
At Charbonneau Field House
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Melrose (50) – Walker 0 1 1; Smith 1 1 3; Nolan 2 1 6; Ivers 2 1 5; Cunningham 0 3 3; MacDonald 1 2 4; Torpey 3 0 7; Doherty 6 6 21. 15 15 50.
WAKEFIELD (51) – H. Butler 1 0 2; Smith 4 1 9; Hanley 0 0 0; Coggswell 3 0 6; Lovell 4 2 10; O.;Dziadyk 4 3 13; E. Butler 1 0 2; Purcell 2 3 7; H. Dziadyk 1 0 2; Synan 0 0 0. Totals 20-9-51.
Score by Quarters – Melrose 16-14-11-9 — 50. Wakefield11-9-20-11 — 51.
Three-point FGs – Mel, Doherty 3, Nolan 1, Torpey 1. Wak, O.Dziadyk 2.
