LYNN — For nearly three quarters of last night's Spartan Classic Division 3 championship game, Ipswich played with the lead over Swampscott.
The Big Blue (17-3) erased that lead late in the third quarter, then made the big plays down the stretch en route to a 59-57 victory over the Tigers (16-4).
Ara Talkov, who was named tournament MVP, went to the line eight times in the fourth quarter to put her team ahead. The junior forward finished with a game-high 19 points and six rebounds. As a team, Swampscott went to the line 18 times in the fourth quarter, as Ipswich was in the double bonus early. Foul shot attempts favored the Big Blue, 31-11.
Ipswich's Julia Davis and Brigid O'Flynn fouled out in the fourth, which hurt the Tigers both offensively and on the glass. Not being able to go to Davis down the stretch, Ipswich had to find other ways of scoring.
"We don't have a ton of height to start with," explained Ipswich head coach Mandy Zegarowski. "It was very unfortunate that Jules was in foul trouble most of the night, but she played tough and it doesn't always go the way you want it to go."
Luckily for Ipswich, it had two freshmen ready and willing to step up. Swampscott took away her outside shots, but point guard Masey Zegarowski found a way to score, hitting some nice floaters off the glass. Zegarowski was 3 for 5 from the foul line and was the Tigers leading scorer with 15 points.
After leading for nearly the entire game, the Tiger found themselves down by nearly half a dozen in the fourth quarter. Caroline Soucy made a driving play to the basket for the two points and drew the foul for a three-point play for Ipswich. She also sank a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the deficit to two. The 5-foot-7 guard finished with 11, but it was her big-time plays in the fourth quarter that showed her coach what she is capable of.
"I'm very pleased with the way Caroline (Soucy) played," said Zegarowski. "I know she had it in her all season, but at times can be a little conservative. She's a freshman and it's taken her a little while to come out, not being nervous and having confidence."
Swampscott, which has had trouble staying healthy over the past few seasons, finally got its rhythm back amongst its starting five and it showed last night.
Senior Caroline Murphy had 14 of her 18 points in the second half and was unbeatable under the basket for the Big Blue. Murphy was aggressive on the glass and her teammates did a good job at getting her the ball down the stretch.
"You have to remember she missed a lot of games," said Swampscott head coach Jack Hughes. "She's still rounding herself into shape. She had 18, but she could have had 25. It's huge to have that other outlet under the basket and we could go to her with some beautiful passes."
Niki Laskaris, Swampscott's other "Big 3" player was tremendous from the foul line — sinking seven in the final quarter alone. The senior forward rounded out the scoring for the Big Blue with 12 points.
"This is one of the most together teams I've ever coached," said Hughes of his Swampscott squad. "You can hear them from the bench, they cheer, they never stop talking to each other on the court, but they never get mad at each other."
