Pentucket derails Swampscott in Division 3 tournament bid

AMESBURY – Swampscott and Pentucket have locked horns in some classic games in recent years, both in the tournament and during the regular season and although Friday night’s Division 3 North lacked the suspense of some of the past battles, it didn’t lack the intensity.Pentucket showed a packed Amesbury High gym why it’s 23-0 and the top seed in the division with a 69-49 win over the Big Blue. The Sachems will play St. Mary’s in the semifinal.Swampscott hung tough in the first quarter, but the Sachems tenacious defense and prolific offense, led by senior Erin McNamara (26 points) won out in the end.”They’re a terrific team,” Swampscott coach Jack Hughes said. “You can’t duplicate what they do on the court in practice ? there’s a reason they 22-0 (regular season).”Hughes said he knew getting past Pentucket would be a tall order.”They go seven to nine deep. They really have some quality players,” he said.Despite the loss, Hughes said it’s been a good year.”It started out good and ended good with a dip in the middle,” he said, the dip referring to the games Gilberg missed due to illness that resulted in the team going into skid for a half dozen or so games.Swampscott trailed 13-10 after the first quarter, but the Sachems took it to the Big Blue at the start of the second quarter by burying three threes. When the smoke cleared, Pentucket was up 22-12. Swampscott had dug itself a hole and there was no climbing out.Although McNamara had no shortage of weapons in his arsenal, it was his daughter who inflicted the most pain on the Big Blue with her sharp-shooting from the perimeter. She hit eight of her team’s nine three-pointers. Senior Holly Jakobsons (14 points) and freshman Nicole Viscelli (7 points) also posed a problem..Pentucket led 32-22 at the half. The bleeding subsided in the third quarter with the two teams playing even, 12-12, but the Big Blue couldn’t get any closer than 10 points. Compounding Swampscott’s problems was the fact Kara Gilberg and Tara Gallagher, both key players on last year’s state championship team, were in foul trouble. Gallagher fouled out with 5:43 remaining in the game and Gilberg was gone with 4:19 left. Pentucket put the game away with a 25-point fourth quarter.”Kara’s been terrific all year. There’s no better player around. She gave everything she had. She’s a terrific playe.”McNamara also had high praise for Gilberg.”She’s one of the best high school players in the state,” he said. “She’s a nightmare to coach against.Hughes credit all his seniors for their contributions – Gilberg, Gallagher, Elise Giangregorio, Heather Macelwee and Jen Cleary, who missed most of the season due to a severe concussion.Freshman Ara Talkov led Swampscott in scoring with 17 points, nine of them coming from the free-throw line. Gilberg checked in with nine, Niki Laskaris with seven and Marina Padovani with six.”This has been a very enjoyable team to coach,” Hughes said. “I was very proud of the kids. They got down in the first half, but they didn’t give up.”