'Comfortable in chaos,' Medway girls basketball reaches Division 3 Final Four

MEDWAY - The Medway girls basketball team planned to turn Friday's Division 3 girls basketball quarterfinal into a track meet. Instead, the Mustangs got a mosh pit.

No. 27 Newburyport matched Medway's intensity, as a mass of crashing, diving bodies and extended limbs traveled up and down the court for 32 minutes. No. 3 Medway found just enough calm in the final game in its own gym and emerged with a 41-34 victory to return to the Final Four.

"That was our intent coming in to make it as chaotic as possible. I guess we achieved that," Medway coach Joe Iannone said. "It was a little chaotic, but I guess we're comfortable with the chaos."

No one more than junior point guard Olivia Melanson. Medway (19-4) looked to her bringing the ball up the floor during the second half with little room to breathe. The Clippers (13-11) pressured every ball handler, rebound and pass. Melanson regularly dribbled the ball out of backcourt traps or found her teammates running in open court for fast break layups.

She scored all nine of her points in the second half and hit sophomore center Anna Freeman with an outlet pass that led to an open layup and a 37-31 lead with 1 minute, 15 seconds remaining.

That gave the Mustangs the final room they needed to breathe. They never trailed after opening the game with an 8-0 run over the first two minutes, but the Clippers didn't allow comfort. They scored the next five points, and Olivia Foley tied the game at 10 with a turnaround jumper with 5:34 to halftime.

Freeman (nine points) followed with a go-ahead layup with five minutes to halftime 12-10. Medway held a 17-13 lead at the halftime break.

"This was a physical war. They're physical, they rebound well, they played really good defense, we had trouble scoring against them," Ianone said. "Our defense stepped up and played really well. When we hold teams under 40, we like our chances."

The Mustangs have allowed fewer than 40 points in six of their past seven games. But they still needed to score to advance, and junior forward Victoria Bullard assumed that responsibility to start the second half. After Newburyport's Clara Thompson opened the third quarter with two free throws that narrowed Medway's lead to 17-15, Bullard (nine points) sparked a 6-0 run with two tough layups cutting the basket. Newburyport never pulled within a single possession again.

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"Someone had to take initiative and had to start with the ball, especially with a close game at the end," Bullard said. "I think we did that."

Medway's bench mobbed its five on the floor once the final whistle sounded. After the Mustangs received the Final Four trophy, they raised it and carried it over to their packed student section decked out in green.

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"It was awesome having everyone cheering. It kept our momentum up," Bullard said. "It helped us keep our heads up the whole time."

Now the Mustangs will turn their eyes to their second state semifinal trip in the past three years. Three players remain from that trip: Melanson, Bullard and senior guard Ellie Copeland (nine points). They will face No. 2 Norwell (22-1) aiming for their first state final appearance since 1994 when they last won a state title.

"We got to see first hand the hard work that the seniors, the juniors, all the upperclassman put into it, and we've been really trying to replicate that throughout the entire season," Melanson said. "That's really benefitted us."

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Medway girls basketball takes out Newburyport in Division 3 Elite 8