Published January 22, 2021
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High girls’ basketball team are 1-2 on the season after a pair of losses to Watertown on the road and at home on Saturday, Jan. 16 and Monday, Jan. 18. While Melrose was able to match talents against a sharp Watertown Raider team, they squandered early leads in both games to fall just shy of securing victories.
In Saturday’s home gain, Watertown’s Taylor Lambo led all scorers with 15 points while Melrose’s Adrianna Centrella was sharp with 12.
Melrose took early lead of 3-2 and 7-6 while trying to fend off 6-foot Lambo, along with sister Lily Lambo. Fortunately for Melrose, they brought a defensive game to the court, although Red Raider offense would remain sluggish in the game thanks to a series of turnovers and missed baskets.
Melrose defense limited the tall Raider team to just six points in the first quarter and generated baskets behind the offense of Adriana Centrella and Jenna Champagne. Melrose’s solid defense couldn’t translate into baskets thanks to turnovers by Melrose, who found themselves in early foul trouble, sending Lambo to the line several times, where she shot clearly. Utilizing the bench gave Melrose new offensive options with sophomore newcomer Sofia Smith hitting an outside shot and providing defensive pressure and sophomore Megan Casey hitting a trey to help Melrose stay within range, down just 15-10.
Sophomore Chloe Gentile provided pressure on Lambo and fed a rebound to Sofia Smith, who delivered a layup with a foul with two minutes to go in the half. After a Maeve Long basket by Watertown, Gentile delivered on hook shot to keep Melrose in it, 18-14 just as the first half closed out.
Melrose’s Adriana Centrella hit a floater in the opening minutes of the fourth to keep Melrose down just 27-24, but Lambo helped stretched that lead out to 6 with a series of baskets that made it a 35-25 game. While Melrose was still in the game, Watertown was shooting hot at the right moment while Melrose offense seemed to sputter. However, Melrose sophomore Megan Casey delivered again with a three pointer that narrowed the gap at 35-28.
Melrose had a few appearances on the foul line to tighten it out to an eventual 35-31 final.
The two teams were re-paired two days later on the road at Watertown High School, the second of their two game series. In the game, Melrose enjoyed leads of 14-6 at the end of 1 and 20-16 at the half. Watertown took a lead of 35-32 at the end of the third, mostly behind the work of Watertown’s Taylor Lambo, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Melrose’s offense was made up by Adrianna Centrella (10 points) Gia Vlajkovic (10 points) and Sofia Centrella (8 pts).
At press time, Melrose was slated to play Wilmington in a series of two games. However, the Wildcats have shut down athletic play for two weeks because of COVID-19, leaving Melrose—once again—high and dry for competitive play. Fans are encouraged to visit our social media pages for any up to date game scheduling information.
All Melrose High School athletic schedules can be found at: https://www.arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=14381
