Swampscott girls born to run

LYNN – When the Swampscott High girls basketball team put 25 points on the board in the first quarter of Wednesday’s Division 3 North semifinal game against Stoneham, the Big Blue faithful knew they were in for a treat.Although the frantic scoring pace waned at times, Swampscott’s drive to reach the North final didn’t, and with the 79-60 win, the Big Blue is headed to Emmanuel College in Boston Saturday (12) for a matchup against the winner of tonight’s St. Mary’s-Pentucket game.Click here for a photo gallery from Wednesday’s tournament action.This one was a track meet, with Tara Nimkar, who scored a career-high 36 points, and Kara Gilberg, 18 points, staying way out in front of the pack. Nimkar was unstoppable in the paint and when the Spartans tried to slow her down, she made them pay at the line, hitting 16 of her 17 free throws.”She’s one of the best players in the state,” Swampscott coach Jack Hughes said. “She’s been to this championship game ? as a freshman, she was at the FleetCenter.”Hughes said his players did a good job getting her the ball.”She’s tough, one-on-one, at the post, and she’s been a 75 percent free-throw shooter all year,” he said.Stoneham coach Angela Billings also gave Nimkar her due.”She’s a great player. She can play inside and out ? She’s multi-faceted,” Billings said.Billings said her team has made a living this season pounding the ball inside, playing strong defense and playing with intensity and aggressiveness.”We did some of those things tonight, but we just faced a really good team,” she said.As tough as Swampscott was in the first quarter, Stoneham was no slouch, either, scoring 17 points. By the half, the Big Blue had opened up a 44-28 lead and it remained fairly comfortable most of the way. Stoneham went on a 6-0 run to start the third quarter and managed to cut the lead to 10 at 44-34, but that’s as close as the Spartans would get.”That was a hard-fought win,” Hughes said. “I thought the energy we put forth in that first half was unbelievable. They might have scored a couple of easy baskets, but the energy we put forth, on the press, running the court, was just great.”Billings said turnovers doomed her team.”But that’s a credit to the Swampscott defense,” she said. “They’re a well-coached team.”Stoneham had three players hit for double figures, including senior Merrimack Valley All-League player Gina Sicuso, who had 14, Ariana Tucelli, who had 13, and Cassie Liston, 10.Although Nimkar and Gilberg did the lion’s share of the scoring for the Big Blue, Allie Beaulieu helped out with nine points and Jen Cleary had eight. Tara Gallagher also did a nice job defensively in the early going.”We like to play a fast pace. We don’t take a long time to get up shots. That’s the way we play,” Hughes said.