GLOUCESTER— Swampscott girls basketball coach Jack Hughes called Friday's Northeastern Conference tilt between Gloucester and the Big Blue "one of the most intense regular season games he has ever been a part of."
Intense was exactly the right word to describe the matchup between two of the powers in the NEC as the two tournament bound teams battled tooth and nail for the full 32 minutes with neither team gaining an edge of more than five points. In the end it was Swampscott that made just one more play than Gloucester en route to a 32-31 win at the Benjamin A. Smith Fieldhouse.
With the win Swampscott improves to 13-3 on the year with two wins over the Fishermen holding them to just 53 points in two contests, Gloucester falls to 10-6.
"Oh my goodness that was an intense game," Hughes said. "We knew it would be a battle because Gloucester is a great team. The difference was our defense, we were really steady all game on the defensive end. (Gloucester) can score and we could not have won if we let them get to 50 like they have been doing lately, I was very happy with the effort tonight."
Although disappointed that the team lost on senior night, Gloucester head coach Lori Sanborn could only praise her team's effort and improvement. The last time the two teams met Swampscott came away with an 18 point win and Sanborn said Friday's one point loss was a testament to how hard the team has worked all year.
"I couldn't be more proud of the effort tonight," Sanborn said. "A game like this just proves how much we have improved over the last three months. The last time we played Swampscott we weren't quite in that team mode yet, tonight we were and it came down to just one point. It's always disappointing to lose but there was nothing disappointing about the way we played, Swampscott is one of the top two teams in the conference."
The nip and tuck contest came down to the fourth quarter, where Swampscott entered with a four point lead. The last quarter alone had two lead changes and three ties.
A 6-0 run to start the frame put Gloucester up 27-25, but Swampscott kept answering back to tie the score. A Sophie Black jump shot with under three minutes to play gave Gloucester a 31-29 lead, but that was the last time they would see an advantage.
The Big Blue tied the score on their next possession and took the lead with 1:30 to play on a bucket from Ara Talkov, who led all scorers with 15 points in the game. A pair of Julia Lamoureaux free throws tied the game at 31 with a minute to play but the Big Blue answered with a free throw from Nicki Laskeris with 29.2 left on the clock that turned out to be the game winner.
The Fishermen had three looks at the basket on their final possession but the Swampscott defense held strong.
It was clear from the get-go that Swampscott's game plan was to deny Gloucester's top to scorers, Heather Cain and Audrey Knowlton, the ball. Every time one of the senior captains touched the ball there was at least two Big Blue players ready to defend. The pair was held to eight points on the night where they usually combine to average more than 30 points per game.
"We couldn't let them beat us, they are both tremendous scorers," Hughes said. "There other players hit a few shots but we stayed with our defense and gave Cain and Knowlton most of the attention."
Gloucester's role players stepped up big on Friday as junior forward Sophie Black led Gloucester with 11 points, junior guard Lamoureaux also played well with six points including four key fourth quarter points. Sanborn also credited the play of Katie Ciaramitaro, who once again played lockdown defense holding Laskeris, one of the premiere players in the NEC, to just six points. Cain also chipped in 14 rebounds, the third straight game that the senior guard had at least 13 boards.
"Early in the season we would not have responded if they shut down Audrey and Heather," Sanborn said. "Earlier in the season Swampscott gave them a lot of attention and we just stood around. Tonight everybody stepped up and got involved. Sophie Black was good as usual and Julia (Lamoureaux) played with a lot of confidence. I'm proud of the way we played and I'm happy to see how far we have come this season."
The contest started much the same way it ended, a back and forth defensive struggle. The Big Blue opened up a 10-5 lead after the first quarter but Gloucester answered with a strong second frame taking a 15-14 halftime lead.
Swampscott 32 Gloucester 31
at Benjamin A. Smith Fieldhouse, Gloucester
S: Anna Greene 1-1-3, Nicki Laskeris 2-2-6, Marina Padovani 4-0-8, Ara Talkov 6-3-15.
G: Heather Cain 3-0-6, Audrey Knowlton 1-0-2, Keri Brewer 2-0-4, Katie Ciaramitaro 1-0-2, Sophie Black 5-1-11, Julia Lamoureaux 2-2-6.
Halftime: Gloucester 15-14
3-Pointers: none
Records: S, 13-3; G, 10-6.
