LYNN ? Just as “Homeward Bound” was a hit for Simon and Garfunkel, it was also a hit for the St. Mary’s girls basketball team.At the Conigliaro Gymnasium, in the first round of the Spartan Classic, St. Mary’s rebounded from a slow start to defeat Georgetown, 57-42, to reach today’s championship against Ipswich (6).Both teams struggled from the floor early. The Spartans (8-12) picked up the intensity in the second quarter by looking into the paint for freshman Tori Faieta (16 points). Trailing 19-15, St. Mary’s finished the half on a 16-3 run, culminating with a 3-pointer by junior Amy Bozarjian.The second half saw the momentum carry over for the Spartans. From the outset, they dominated defensively, forcing turnovers on many of the Royals’ possessions. The advantage reached 48-26, capping a 33-7 run by St. Mary’s.The Royals attempted to come back in the fourth, but it was too late, and the Spartans sealed the win at the charity stripe.”We were eliminated (from state tournament contention) Thursday, so we put a lot on this tournament as a last hurrah,” said Spartan coach Jeff Newhall. “We played well. There were some ugly spurts, but when you score 57 points you’re going to be in a position to win.”Seniors Jackie Kapnis and Jenna Blydell were honored before the game for Senior Day.Ipswich 71, English 59The Tigers, led by junior Amber Smith’s 27 points, were simply too much for the overmatched Bulldogs, who fell to 12-7.”They’re a good team and we just got outplayed,” said English coach Fred Hogan. “We played hard, but the shots didn’t fall today.”English kept the game close early, led by the post play of junior Jeanette Anderson (18 points).In the second quarter, though, Ipswich began to assert itself inside with Smith and junior Audrey Shaughnessy (10 points). With so many points coming in the paint, Ipswich was able to get Anderson into foul trouble while building a 36-29 halftime lead.Despite a ferocious full-court press by the Bulldogs, the Tigers stretched their lead after the break, eventually seeing it swell to a 62-45 advantage. Smith scored 17 of her points after the intermission despite spending a significant amount of time on the bench in foul trouble.English never came closer than within nine points the rest of the way. The Bulldogs will face Georgetown on Monday in the consolation game.Lowell 70, Peabody 41The Tanners (15-4) were ice-cold from the floor throughout the first quarter, falling behind 21-3 at the end of the game’s first eight minutes in the first round of yesterday’s Spartan Classic.The Red Raiders denied any second chances that Peabody attempted to get, and the Tanners didn’t net their first field goal until 2:41 remained in the opening stanza.”When you play an ‘A’ team, you have to play an ‘A’ game,” said Peabody coach Jane Heil about playing the squad from the Merrimack Conference. “Lowell’s everything that’s been written about them.”Lowell (16-2) continued to pad its lead throughout the half, behind the play of guard Ashley Rivera. She netted 15 of her game-high 25 points in the half, and the margin would eventually grow to 30 (39-9) late in the final moments.The Tanners outscored Lowell, 17-14, in the third quarter, as center Kristen Federico had five of Peabody’s points.Rivera, who entered the game needing 25 to become the school’s leading scorer, got that final point on a free throw with a minute gone in the final period.Forward Tawny Palmieri led Peabody with 11 points, while Federico added seven.