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Carlisle's Murphy still 3 points shy of 1,000

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2:21 AM Sunday, December 18, 2011

By Rick Cassano

Staff Writer

MADISON TWP. — Alexis Murphy couldn’t touch the milestone Saturday afternoon. She couldn’t have cared less.

The Carlisle High School senior guard needed 16 points to reach the 1,000 mark for her career, but she was held to 13 as the Indians girls basketball team took a 57-29 beating from Madison.

“After the game, I didn’t even know how many points I had,” Murphy said. “I had a lot bigger goal for my team today. I knew I was going to get face-guarded the whole game, so 1,000 points was not even on my brain.”

She struggled to find her shooting touch and made 3-of-6 free throws. More importantly, Carlisle got bounced from the ranks of the unbeaten.

Murphy, who was on the floor for several minutes after getting fouled on a drive with 5:04 left, went to the bench for good with 1:38 on the clock.

“I like to finish the game strong,” Murphy said. “But when the rest of my starting teammates came out, I wanted to come out with them and cheer for the other girls. It’s hard cheering them on as I’m crying on the bench. It’s just upsetting because we have high goals, and we know Madison’s that mountain we’ve got to get over.”

Indians coach Randy Glover didn’t keep track of Murphy’s points during the game and didn’t second-guess himself for clearing the bench when he did.

“We still have a lot of season ahead of us,” Glover said. “The personal accolades and records will come in due time.”

Abby Jerger and Michelle Brunswick did the bulk of the defensive work against Murphy. Jerger admitted she knew nothing about the 1,000-point possibility.

“Really? Oh, wow,” Jerger said. “She deserves it, she really does. She’s a good kid, a good athlete.”

Said Murphy, “I have to say it’s hard being enemies because I’m so close with that group of girls. I look up to them a lot.”

Madison coach John Rossi said his squad started double-teaming players other than Murphy in the second half, leading to numerous CHS turnovers. Rossi praised Brunswick (six rebounds, five steals) and Meghan Robinson for the spark they provided.

“To a degree, we were going to let Lexie get her 15 points,” Rossi said. “We didn’t want anybody else to get any.”

Carlisle will travel to West Carrollton on Thursday. Madison faces Edgewood in the Miami University Middletown Holiday Tournament on Dec. 29.

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