A lost season turns into a second chance for Swampscott’s Gilberg

Swampscott’s Kara Gilberg has a golden opportunity to salvage what she’d have every right to consider a lost season, and she intends to make the best of it.Gilberg, who, as a junior, was on the Division 3 state champion Big Blue girls basketball team, had her senior season cut short by six games after contracting mononucleosis. She’s back, and ready to go tonight when Swampscott travels to Bedford to begin defense of that title. And for that, she is eternally grateful. In fact, she’s so happy for the chance to keep playing that she’s even thinking big.”I want to win another state title,” she says. “I know that sounds kind of bold, and I don’t want us to get ahead of ourselves, but I think we’re going to surprise some people.”Gilberg – and the Big Blue – were rolling along back in January. With three of their top players – Tara Nimkar, Allie Beaulieu and Marissa Gambale – graduated, most observers thought the Big Blue would struggle. But even though they lost early to Gloucester, those struggles never materialized. And even though Swampscott lost in overtime to English on Jan. 12, Gilberg game up huge. The problem is that was the only day during the week when she wasn’t running a fever.”I was out the day before,” she said, “and then went for two and a half hours on Tuesday so it would count for a full day ? I didn’t wake up with a fever that day ? and then woke up the next day with a temperature of 103.”She thought she was over it by the following Sunday, and was even getting ready to go to practice when her throat closed up, “and I had to get rushed to the doctor’s.”There, after countless blood tests, she was diagnosed with mono.”And I freaked,” she said.Initially, she was told she’d miss four to six weeks, and “I thought it was the worst thing that could ever happen. I certainly didn’t count on getting mono and missing six games my senior year.”She couldn’t even watch five of those six games – all of them losses. But she managed to make the sixth one ? a win ? and “I saw that look in my teammates’ eyes like they really wanted it.”To say she was buoyed by the sight of that is an understatement.”It was a bad thing for me,” she said, “but I think what happened was good for the team. It forced other people to step up, and play a role. I think this has made us much deeper, and better, going into the tournament.”Gilberg’s first game back was Feb. 9 – a win against Saugus. She played sparingly and scored only two points ? and was frustrated and elated all at once.”It was great just to get out there,” she said. “But I couldn’t hit a thing. Every shot I made missed. But the coaches, and my teammates, were great. They just told me to keep shooting.Her minutes have been increasing since then, and she feels herself rounding into shape.”I’m a little tired,” she said, “but we had a lot of games over vacation, so it could be that. I’m just happy to be out there again.”And while others might be inclined to call this a lost season, don’t try to get her to feel sorry for herself.”I definitely don’t see this as a lost season,” she said. “It was a good learning experience for me.”And I don’t think the season is over. No one gave us much of a chance when it began, and we surprised a lot of people. No one’s giving us a chance now, either.”