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Bulldogs too much for Trojan girls in final minutes


CHAMBERSBURG - Entering Monday's contest, both struggling girls basketball teams looked at one another as beatable opponents, and potentially, a turning point in a rough season.

But for Chambersburg, it turned out to be the same game, different day as they fell to Big Spring 43-39 in a non-league game at CASHS Field House.

"It's been all year, the opportunities are there to win these kind of games and we're just making bad decisions down the stretch and it's caused us some problems," Chambersburg coach Barry Purvis said. "And when you are playing a team when you have a chance to win, you can't make those kind of mistakes."

The Trojans kept the game close, giving Big Spring no more than a five-point lead throughout, but couldn't make the important baskets when they counted.

Chambersburg (1-11) trailed by three points with just over 30 seconds left in the game, and possession of the ball. Three consecutive shots fell short before Big Spring used a foul shot with 2.9 seconds left to gain the four-point lead, and seal the win.

"I had a couple plays set up for them (at the end) and they didn't run them as well as they should," Purvis said. "That goes back to that winning attitude - they're nervous and think, 'Don't give me the ball.'"

Big Spring (4-9) shut down Chambersburg's offense, limiting its leading scorer, Lindsay Embly, to just nine points, and kept each scorer under double figures.

"Tonight they double-teamed me, so I had to count on other teammates and kick it out to them," Embly said. "And they kind of took the points that I normally score and turned it into a team game."

With Chambersbur's bigs Embly and Taylor Vrabel unavailable, Purvis sent in outside scorers to hit important shots in the second half, keeping the game close. Liz Bishop and Madison Whitfield sank 3-pointers off the bench in the fourth quarter, which came as a surprise to Big Spring coach Randy Jones.

"They did knock down some shots tonight that they haven't in the past," Jones said. "We tried to stay on their bigs, but they had some people to shoot from the outside. They did some things that I haven't seen, but we were able to beat them on the boards, pulling 41 rebounds."

The Trojans' seven scorers shot 34 percent from the field, with just five chances at the foul line, making two.

Comparatively, Big Spring went 10-for-24, including a technical foul shot with less than three minutes remaining to give the Bulldogs a three-point lead.

Chambersburg committed 22 turnovers against an offense that has the quickness to capitalize.

Big Spring's Marissa Emlet scored six points in the fourth quarter on fast breaks alone, and ended the night with a double-double, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Embly and Bishop led the Trojans with nine points each. Embly added nine rebounds to the stat sheet, while Vrabel scored seven points and had eight rebounds.

Big Spring 43, Chambersburg 39  

Big Spring (43)

Marissa Emlet 8 3-7 22, Megan Emlet 3 1-6 8, Hannah Swenski 2 6-10 10, Emily Franklin 1 0-0 5. Totals — 15 10-24 43.

Chambersburg (39)

Shayla Corwell 2 0-0 6, Kristen Pugh 1 0-0 2, Shadai Joyner 0 0-0 0, Lindsay Embly 4 1-2 9, Taylor Vrabel 2 0-0 4, Madison Whitfield 3 0-0 7, Alexis Sherman 1 0-0 2, Liz Bishop 3 1-3 9, Camryn Greenlee 0 0-0 0. Totals — 16 2-5 39.

Big Spring _ 12 _ 10 _ 9 _ 12 _ — _ 43

Chambersburg _ 9 _ 8 _ 9 _ 13 _ — _ 39

3-point goals — BS 3 (Ma.Emlet, Me.Emlet, Franklin), Chbg 5 (Bishop 2, Corwell 2, Whitfield).

JV score — Chambersburg 37, Big Spring 23. Gabby Lecuona scored 12 points for Chambersburg.