RallyNorth.net

Mon, Feb 25, 2008 07:00 PM @ Melrose

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
Playoff Game Division 2 North - Round 1
North Andover	8	9	3	8	28
Melrose	9	7	10	21	47

Second half sinks Scarlet Knights

Tuesday, February, 26 By Chuck Frye
Staff writer

Just wait until next year.

Another season's experience and growth could make North Andover a player in the Division 2 North girls basketball tournament. But last night, there were too many periods of empty offense that erased an impressive defensive effort and allowed Melrose to pull away for a 47-28 first-round victory.

Now 18-3, the No. 3-seed Red Raiders will play the winner of tonight's Charlestown/Reading matchup in the quarterfinals. The 14th-seed Scarlet Knights finish their season at 11-10. Showing nervousness befitting an entire roster without tourney experience, North Andover struggled to score but more than made up for it defensively. Even with the matchup problems that a mobile roster of tall players presented, the Knights' sheer determination kept things close.

"Mainly it was North Andover playing great defense and forcing us out of our game," said Melrose head coach Rob Ferrante. "Because of their defensive pressure, we lost focus and we were doing too many things as individuals instead of as a team."

The opening half featured nine lead changes and three ties with North Andover heading to the locker room on top, 17-16. Top-scoring Nicole Zahoruiko fought through Melrose's own defensive blanket to score seven points, all coming in the second quarter.

But the tide slowly turned in the third quarter. The Raiders spread the floor and effectively sent cutters through the lane and along the base line for easy hoops and fouls.

Sophomore Hannah Brickley scored half of her eight points in the opening minute of the half and senior Meghan Kirwan (14 points) bookended a slight ankle injury with a pair of steals and layups. And while the four-minute Red Raider run was in progress, North Andover's Jackie Sullivan was forced to the bench with her fourth foul, and that removed a key offensive option.

Held scoreless until Nicole Zahoruiko's sweet baseline scoop with 3:15 left, the Knights finished with just three points scored and a six-point deficit, 26-20 after three quarters. Melrose had five different players contribute to a 12-2 three-minute romp to open the final stanza and put things away.

"We just couldn't buy a basket for a long stretch and we missed a lot of free throws (finishing 6 of 15 from the stripe)," North Andover head coach Sue Breen said.

Nicole Zahoruiko led the Scarlet Knights with 14 points and six rebounds, four off the offensive boards. Freshman sister Erika Zahoruiko added six boards while senior Katie Boringa had six points and seven rebounds.

"We couldn't have gotten back to the state tourney without Katie and Mariah Dellea," Breen said of her two lone seniors. "I'm proud of how they played and represented themselves.

"We have 10 kids coming back," Breen concluded. "We had a lot of positive things come out of this year, and we have a great start we can build on next year."