At 3-0, Melrose is the pick of the league

Published December 21, 2018

By JENNIFER GENTILE

MELROSE—Three games into the season and Melrose girl’s basketball fans can’t be anything but thrilled with what they’ve seen from the team who are now 3-0 on the season after a collection of wins over Arlington, Stoneham and Woburn, the latter a team who was #1 seed in the Div. 1 North bracket  last season and winner of 19 games.

But Melrose edged the Tanners 38-32 thanks to a brutal Melrose defense that peppered Woburn with blocks and steals over the night, and a commanding performance by senior Sam Smith, who led in scoring with 12 points and turned the tide with a 3-pointer with 2:35 to play.

Senior captain Lily Cunningham posted 11 points and, along with Smith, had clutch foul line shots to keep Melrose two points ahead at almost every turn. 

THE MELROSE Lady Raider hoop team improved to 3-0 following a win over Woburn, 38-32, on Tuesday night. (Steve Karampalas photo)

The two teams opened in a stalemate, trading possession without baskets for nearly four minutes to start the game until Woburn’s Julia Tyler hit back to back shots to give Woburn a 4-0 lead. But Melrose’s Abby Cunningham put Melrose on board with a three-pointer and a foul shot by Sam Dewey made it a 5-4 game. Woburn took a lead of 8-6 behind shooting from Meghan Roderick and Ashlyn Pacheco, but a three pointer by Sam Smith gave Melrose a lead of 12-10.

Melrose defense clamped down in the second, forcing turnovers behind efforts from Smith and Sam Dewey, which held the Tanners to just 6 points. Melrose took a 21-16 lead behind shooting from Mary Kate Mahoney (on an assist by Emily Hudson) and a Sam Dewey shot (fed by Peri McDonald.)  Melrose took a lead of 21-16 at haltime with Smith leading with 9 points and Dewey 8. Emily Hudson had a strong 5 rebounds in the frame. 

Lily Cunningham was pivotal in the third for Melrose, with 6 points, several from steals turned layups. Meanwhile, defense from Smith and Lily Cunningham helped keep Woburn to 1 point for a 5-minute stretch while Melrose offense turned on the faucet. Dewey hit a shot to make it 31-30 and Lily Cunningham stole the ball and drew a foul to go 2-2 on the line giving Melrose a 33-30 lead. Smith’s clutch three (fed by Abby Cunningham) with two minutes to go opened the game up, 36-32, and more flawless foul line shots by Lily Cunningham closed the door 38-32. 

Melrose hopes to make it four in a row when they host Watertown on Thursday (post-deadline). Then they will travel to Tewksbury on Wednesday, Dec. 26 to compete in the Tewksbury Annual Holiday Tournament. Action starts Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m. at Tewksbury High.