Melrose (11-3) takes out Stoneham, Winchester
Published February 1, 2019
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose Lady Raider basketball team is now 11-3 and remain at the top of the Middlesex Freedom League after two wins over Stoneham and Winchester this week.
It was a monstrous defeat over Stoneham last Friday evening when they hosted the Spartans at the Melrose Middle School gym. The Lady Raiders completely dominated Stoneham in a 68-27 victory that puts them in the driver’s seat for another league title.
A trio of Lady Raiders had a huge hand in that victory, including senior captain Peri MacDonald, who led in scoring with 19 points, followed by sophomore Sam Dewey and senior captain Sam Smith, who both tallied 15.
PERI MACDONALD led in scoring for Melrose against Stoneham last Friday in their 68-27 victory. (Steve Karampalas photo)
Melrose outscored Stoneham an eye-popping 26-5 in the final frame.
The game began more competitively in the first quarter, with the Lady Raiders taking leads of 9-6 and 14-8 behind basketball from Dewey and MacDonald. Lily Cunnigham’s three pointer and Mary Kate Mahoney’s basket made it a 18-8 game. And as the quarter came to a close, MacDonald found Dewey under the basket to give Melrose a lead of 20-13.
Melrose doubled that total in a highly charged second quarter, and kept the Spartans to just seven points thanks to strong defense, including that of Lily Cunningham, who had multiple steals in the quarter. MacDonald was on a tear and she scored 9 in the frame, helping Melrose take a 41-20 lead at the half.
Melrose went on a scoring bonanza in the second half, taking a lead of 49-21 with a layup and foul from Sam Smith and a three-pointer from Lily Cunningham. Smith hit two of her three three pointers in the quarter and another basket to make it a 58-23. Melrose saw quality play from Chloe Halligan, Maggie Sullivan, Olivia Scarpa, Kira Maté and Adrianna Centrella, who helped extend Melrose’s lead to 63-24. Scarpa tallied three points and Centrella two, and a foul line appearance by Sullivan finished the job. Melrose ran away with the game 68-27, for their tenth win of the season.
They followed that win with a 55-30 victory over Winchester on Tuesday night on the road. Sam Dewey scored 21 points and Peri MacDonald had 15 points.
Tonight, Melrose travels to Watertown for a 7:00 p.m. game and will host Lexington on Tuesday on 6:00 p.m.
