Emily Marshall, basketball

Emily Marshall isn’t much of a talker, especially when she is the subject of discussion.
She is actually more of a numbers person, anyway, but that hasn’t stopped her from being a leader on the Frazier girls basketball team.
Marshall maintains a 4.0 GPA at Frazier and plans to study to become an actuary at Robert Morris University starting next fall.
She also was selected as Frazier’s winter sports female honoree in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete Spotlight program. A daughter of Therese and Paul Marshall of Star Junction, she has two sisters. Maria Adams, 24, is an X-ray technician who golfed and played basketball at Frazier, and Sarah Marshall, 22, who played basketball and volleyball at Frazier, is studying at WCCC to become a dental hygienist.
Becoming an actuary is more involved than simply getting a degree in actuarial science. There is a series of very difficult math tests. The more of them one successfully passes, the closer one gets to becoming an actuary. RMU offers a strong actuarial science program.
“You can go there as a math major, but Robert Morris is known for its actuary program,” Marshall said. “They set you up for a few of the tests. That’s why I wanted to go there. There is really no family history there, my mom and my sisters all went into the medical field. I was just always smart in math.”
Marshall is pretty smart at basketball, as well. She used to play on the golf team, but not anymore.
“I quit golf because I wanted to work more and in the summer, I would just play basketball and practice more than play golf,” she said. “I am a center on the basketball team. I could play forward, too, but I like banging around underneath and playing underneath is what I do best.”
Frazier girls basketball coach Ken Poling said Marshall, at 5-8, has done much more than just bang underneath.
“Emily is the heart of this team,” Poling said. “She plays physical and she worked hard in the offseason to develop an outside shot. She could play guard as well.”
Not surprisingly, Marshall listed a team accomplishment when she said making the PIAA tournament as a sophomore was her most memorable sports moment at Frazier.
To top that, Marshall also picked a team goal, one that would put Frazier girls basketball back on the map.
“I would like to win the section this year,” Marshall said. “That would improve my most memorable sports moment.”
No, Emily Marshall isn’t much of a talker. But when she speaks, people had better listen.