Girls basketball roundup: Big Blue express keeps on rolling

The Swampscott girls basketball team took a little while to warm up, but once the Big Blue hit its stride, it was lights-out for Beverly in a 61-36 win at Beverly.””We were a little sluggish in the first quarter and Beverly was playing well,” Swampscott (13-1) coach Jack Hughes said. “Then we got going in the second quarter. In the third quarter we really exploded with (Tara) Nimkar and (Kara) Gilberg both scoring 10 points.”Nimkar led all scorers with 26 points (12 rebounds). Gilberg had 17 points. Allie Beaulieu also came up big with 13 points.Classical 50, Marblehead 25At Classical, the Rams (4-10) led 26-11 at halftime. Hannah Byrne led all scorers with 14 points (9 rebounds). Frances Mathieu and Sochitta Men had seven points each and Pierina Mora and Brianna Capone had six apiece. Halie Pliner led Marblehad with seven points.Salem 55, Saugus 48At Salem, the Sachems (4-10, 2-9 NEC) had a tough second quarter (they were outscored 12-1) and it proved costly. Liz Dean and Lauren Garchinsky each had 13 points for Saugus with Jackie Strangie scoring 11. Lougianna Riso had 17 points for Salem, Amanda Wilkins had 16 and Ashley White had 13.Shawsheen 45, Tech 30At Billerica, the Tigers (1-10) hung in there against the Rams, who are undefeated in the Commonwealth Conference. Junior Fanice Jean-Baptiste led the effort with 19 points. Jenna Kulakowski added six and Octavia Harper had five. Maya Sewell and freshman Claribelle Ramirez supplied the defensive punch.Winthrop 38, Peabody 35At Peabody, the Tanners (5-8, 5-6 NEC) held Katarina Mallios to four points and Courtney Finn to 16, but the Vikings seized the momentum in the final quarter with a couple of big threes, an offensive putback and a free throw. Janelle Rodriguez led Peabody (5-8, 5-6) with 11 points. She added seven rebounds. Ginny Fleming had eight points and Britany Lafave had nine rebounds.Gloucester 66, Revere 36At Revere, Lindsey Rogers (19 points) and Hannah Cain (17 points) supplied the bulk of the firepower for the Fishermen (7-5). Audrey Knowlton (10 points) and Ali Verga (10 points) also hit double figures in the win. Revere is 5-7.Masco 57, Lynnfield 32At Lynnfield, the Pioneers (5-9) were undermanned due to illness (they were missing starters Jamie Harris and Katie Judd), but they still put up a good fight. Alison Newell had seven points and 18 rebounds and Abby Shove had six points, six rebounds and a block.