RallyNorth.net

Lufkin's free throws put first place Swampscott away

Wednesday, February, 13 By Matt Langone
Sports editor

All it takes for Olivia Lufkin to succeed in a pressure-packed situation is a few words of encouragement.

At least that's all it took last night.

With Lufkin and her Gloucester girls basketball team trailing Northeastern Conference front-runner Swampscott 51-50 with 12.7 seconds left on the clock, the sophomore guard stepped up to the free-throw line with a chance give the Fishermen the lead.

"I was really nervous, but my teammates came up to me before the first shot and said 'Liv you can do it,'" said Lufkin. "Everyone was believing in me and right away I knew I was going to make them both."

Lufkin's premonition was correct as she calmly drilled both free throws and added two more with 2.2 seconds left to ice the game and give the Fishermen a dramatic 53-50 win over the now 16-2 Big Blue. It was the third straight victory for Gloucester, which improved to 12-5.

The words of encouragement towards Lufkin couldn't have been more legit. In fact, Gloucester's lone senior, Jill Lukegord, had so much confidence in Lufkin at the line that she couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that a victory on her senior night rested on the arms of Lufkin, who finished the game with 12 points and six rebounds.

"I couldn't stop laughing," said Lukegord, who had 11 points and six rebounds in her final regular season home game. "I knew (Olivia) was going to make them."

The contest had the feeling of early March and was tight the whole way through, with the exception of the first four minutes when the Big Blue jumped out to a 16-9 lead. Both teams used short rotations and relied heavily on their starting lineups.

"Once we qualified for the state tournament, I told the girls that we have to play every night like it's our last," said Gloucester head coach Jon Flanagan.

After a run-and-gun first quarter, Gloucester held a 19-18 lead. However, the play slowed substantially in the final three frames and converting on the offensive end was tough to come by for both teams.

"We didn't plan to go out and allow 18 points in the first quarter," said Flanagan. "We needed to slow them down in transition a little bit and I think we did a better job of that in the last three quarters."

The defense of Lukegord (four steals) and junior Lindsey Rogers (12 points, three steals, five rebounds), along with the rebounding of junior center Alicia Unis (eight points, nine rebounds) was a key reason that the Fishermen were able to slow down Swampscott.

The Fishermen did an effective job of collapsing in on the lane and preventing easy buckets. During the first half Gloucester was hurt in the lane, particularly by Swampscott's Tara Nimkar, who had 11 of her 15 points in the first 16 minutes, which led to a 31-27 Big Blue lead at the break.

Balance was the key for Gloucester in the final two quarters. Freshman point guard Hannah Cain picked her spots and supplied offense when needed, joining Lufkin, Lukegord and Rogers in double-figures with 10 points. However, Swampscott's Ali Beaulieu picked up the slack for the visitors, knocking down five 3-pointers on the night en route to 17 points.

A Beaulieu 3-pointer with 2:25 left made it 48-44 Swampscott. But Lukegord came back with an old-fashioned 3-point play with 1:30 left to cut the deficit to one. The teams then traded baskets in the next minute, which set the stage for Lufkin's heroics and the most impressive victory of the winter for Gloucester.

"We beat the undefeated team in the league," said Flanagan with a smile after the game. "We'll take it."