Indians fall to Martinsburg

Deidra Burch and Casey Solomon combined for 36 points, but it wasn't enough as Martinsburg broke open a three-point game in the second half to beat Berkeley Springs, 62-45, on Tuesday, December 14, in Berkeley Springs.

"Martinsburg is a good team with a deep bench," said Berkeley Springs coach Dale McCumbee. “I thought we were pretty effective on defense. We forced a lot of turnovers and did a good job of limiting them to one shot for the most part."

The game was close until the final minutes, with each team having a series of runs throughout the contest.

The Indians opened the game on a 7-2 run and still led 9-7 with just over three minutes remaining in the opening quarter when Martinsburg went on a 12-2 run to take a 19-11.

Martinsburg scored the first two points of the second quarter for a 10-point lead, 21-11, but the Indians responded with a 9-2 run, fueled by five points from Solomon to get within three of their Class AAA opponent. The two teams traded baskets in the final minute of the opening half and the Indians headed to the break down just three, 25-22.

The Bulldogs opened up another 10-point lead, 34-24, with 4:16 remaining in the third quarter, but once more Berkeley Springs responded. Burch hit a runner in the lane and then buried a 3-point bomb to trim Martinsburg's lead to five, before Solomon hit one of two from the free throw line pulling the Tribe to within four points, 34-30, with 2:47 remaining in the quarter.

Just when it looked like the game might go down to the wire, Martinsburg put it in overdrive and scored the final eight points of the third to take a 42-30 lead into the final eight minutes of regulation. The two teams traded points until the Bulldogs outscored the Tribe 11-3 in the final minute-and-a-half for the 62-45 victory.

Burch, playing on a sore ankle and Solomon, who sat out most of the first quarter after picking up two quick fouls, scored 18 points each. Caitlyn Napfel added three points to the Indian total, while Sydne Yanez, Lauren Schetrompf and Casandra Burch had two points apiece.

Solomon and Casandra Burch led the Tribe in rebounding with seven each. Deidra Burch had three assists and two steals, Schetrompf had five steals, two assists and a block, while Napfel pulled down four rebounds.

Kieera Basey paced the Lady Bulldogs with 19 points.

Although coaches are never happy with losses, McCumbee was pleased with his teams effort.

"I really felt that we played with a great deal of effort," McCumbee said. “I thought it was one of the better games we've played The biggest difference tonight was Martinsburg's depth. I think we kind of ran out of gas a little at the end. We aren't a deep team so we really need to work on our conditioning. We can do that every day in practice."

Berkeley Springs played at Frankfort this past Monday and will host Shenandoah Valley Christian Academy on December 22. The game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

Berkeley Springs is currently 2-2 on the year.