Sophomore Jenicia Duggins had 28 points and 10 steals to lead the English High girls basketball team to a 59-45 win over Beverly Friday at Beverly.”This is a vital part of the season,” English coach Fred Hogan said. “We’re getting ready to go into the Lynn tournament and defend our title.”Jeanette Anderson also had a big night for English with 12 points, 15 rebounds and six steals, and freshman Lashonda Hogan had nine points.”If the Bulldogs can beat Revere today (they have to play the second half of a game that was suspended when the power went out), they’ll be off to their best start in 15 years. English is 2-1 and was leading the Patriots 30-17 when the game was stopped.Peabody 55, Classical 42At Classical, the Rams trailed by 11 at the half, but battled back to cut the lead to three points with three minutes remaining. The Tanners, however, had weapons down the stretch to put the game away.Christina McKenzie had 14 points for the Rams and Keila Brown had nine. The Tanners (4-0) had a big game from Michele Grifoni (20 points with 9-for-10 free-throw shooting) Lindsay Consoles had eight points and eight rebounds and Janelle Rodriguez had four points and eight rebounds.”The kids brought the effort. It’s not a lack of trying,” Classical coach Tom Sawyer said.Peabody coach Jane Heil was pleased with her team’s effort and happy with the competition in the Northeastern Conference.”Every night is a challenge,” Heil said. “We’re working extremely hard to get these wins.”Spellman 67, St. Mary’s 31At Brockton, it took the Spartans three hours to get to Brockton because of the traffic – and things went downhill from there. Cardinal Spellman led by 15 points at the half and then opened the second half with a 13-point run to pull away for good. Tori Faieta had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Spartans. Jenna Blydell had 10 points and Cassi Amenta had four points and seven rebounds.”Spellman is probably the best high school girls team I’ve seen in seven years coaching,” St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall said.St. Mary’s plays Classical Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in the Walter Boverini Christmas Tournament at St. Mary’s.Swampscott 63, Gloucester 48At Swampscott, Tara Nimkar and Allie Beaulieu proved to be a deadly duo. Nimkar only had two points for the Big Blue in the first half, but finished with 23 for the game. Beaulieu (19 points) killed the Fishermen in the first half. Kara Gilberg also contributed with nine points.The Fishermen (2-1) were led by Olivia Lufkin (12 points) and Lindsey Rogers and Hannah Cain, 11 points each.Danvers 50, Saugus 26At Danvers, Danielle Sherry led all scorers with 18 points as Danvers evened its record at 2-2. The Falcons led by 21 points at the half and never let up.”It’s good to get back on the winning track,” Danvers coach Pat Veilleux said.Winthrop 68, Marblehead 12At Winthrop, the Vikings take a 4-1 record into Christmas break thanks to strong performances by Katarina Mallios (20 points), Courtney Finn (18 points) and Nicole Giaquinto (14 points). Winthrop’s only loss was to Swampscott.Wilmington 58, Lynnfield 34At Wilmington, the Pioneers (1-5) had a tough time getting the offense in gear. Jamie Harris had nine points and Molly Serino had eight points.