LYNN— Three games into the new season, the Classical girls basketball team is off to the start it was hoping for. The Rams (3-0) captured their third win of the season with a 57-21 victory over a young Swampscott team Thursday night at Classical’s gymnasium.
“We’re certainly glad to be 3-0,” Classical coach Tom Sawyer said. “Now we have a week where we can work together before we play again. We’re 3-0 but there are always some things that, as a coach, you’d like to clean up and do better. But we’re 3-0 and that’s where we wanted to be.”
Swampscott, which carries just one senior on its roster, fell into a double-digit deficit at the end of the first quarter and played catch-up the rest of the way. The Big Blue fell into offensive funks throughout the night and struggled to generate scoring opportunities.
“It’s going to take some time,” Swampscott coach Katelyn Leonard said. “We’re a really young team and we’re still learning and trying to gel on offense. We’re learning a new system, for a lot of the kids it’s a new system.”
The Rams were led by senior forward Paris Wilkey, who scored a game-high 19 points. Junior guard Jazzmine Masse and sophomore forwards Jean Gupton and Chloe Kebreau each added six points.
For Swampscott, junior guard Grace DiGrande led the Big Blue with eight points. DiGrande netted two 3-pointers.
Classical set the tone early in the first quarter. The Rams featured six different scorers, with the majority of their points coming from drives to the paint. Classical opened a double-digit lead five minutes into the quarter, forcing Swampscott to burn an early timeout. A pair of buckets was all the offense the Big Blue could muster, leading to a 16-4 deficit at the end of the first.
“We want to get everybody involved,” Sawyer said. “We want to be a team that forces its opponents to defend all five players. It makes us more difficult to defend.”
Things became even more difficult for the Big Blue when Wilkey joined in on the fun in the second quarter. The senior forward tallied 12 points in the period. Swampscott netted three 3-pointers, including one from DiGrande at the buzzer, but trailed 32-13 at recess.
“The cuts have to be harder, we’ve got to change our speed a little more, set better screens,” Leonard said. “All around, what I’m hoping is that as the year goes on we get better and better each game. It’s a learning curve.”
Both teams hit an offensive funk coming out of the gate in the second half. A total of eight points were scored in the third quarter, and seven of them belonged to the Rams. Nikki Rosa swished a free throw for the Big Blue but Classical remained well ahead, 39-14, after three quarters of play.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Classical had its third win of the season locked and secure. A handful of Rams substitutes saw action and made the most of their playing time in the final period. Skyler Crayton led the group of reserves with four points off the bench for the 57-21 final.
“We have six underclassmen and we want all our kids to play,” Sawyer said. “We’re a little deeper this year than we have been in the past. Those kids all work hard in practice. Skyler, Chloe, Jean, Amber Crayton, Keyanni Jordan, Maryah Chandler. It’s nice for them to get productive minutes.”
Swampscott and Classical will clash again next week in the Boverini Tournament. Although Classical got the win on Thursday night, Sawyer feels next week’s game could be a different contest.
“That’s what happened last year when we played English twice,” Sawyer said. “We beat them the first time and then it took OT to win the second game. Our job as coaches is to have them ready to play next week. The scoreboard won’t start with tonight’s score.”
