NEW PALESTINE — The unbeaten New Palestine girls basketball team put together a pair of double-digit runs en route to a 60-53 victory against Perry Meridian on Saturday.
The Dragons improved to 5-0 with the victory to post their best start in 22 seasons.
Junior Leah Seib tied her career-high with 19 points, while junior Megan Jolly set a career-high with 17. New Palestine shot 18 of 23 from the free-throw line and the duo helped seal the game in the fourth quarter.
Seib hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the first quarter to spur a 12-point run that gave the Dragons an early 12-2 lead. The Dragons later withstood a 15-0 Perry Meridian run that put the Falcons up 23-18.
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New Palestine responded by scoring the next eight points — six from Jolly — to eventually take a two-point lead into halftime at 26-24.
Haley Harrison hit two 3-pointers to cap a 10-0 run that put New Palestine up 36-24 to open the second half. The Dragons eventually pushed the lead as high as 46-31 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Michaela Jones and Seib.
New Palestine had a strong all-around effort, shooting 46 percent — 6 of 13 — from behind the arc. The Dragons were 18 of 51 from the field in the game. Perry Meridian was 20 of 46, but the Falcons shot just 2 of 15 from long range.
Jolly had a career-high eight rebounds, while Seib and Herron had six each as the Dragons outrebounded the Falcons 32-31.
Jolly added five assists. Harrison had eight points, two assists and three steals. Jones had a career-high nine points, to go along with five rebounds and two steals. Herron had seven points and added two assists.
New Palestine returns to the court tonight at New Castle to open Hoosier Heritage Conference play at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Marauders fall to Huskies
The Mt. Vernon girls basketball team dropped its second straight to fall to 2-5 on the season.
The Marauders lost at Hamilton Heights on Saturday 42-28 after falling at East Central 44-26 seven days prior.
Mt. Vernon snapped a three-game losing streak with back-to-back wins against Lawrence Central and at home against Rushville.
The Marauders return to the court Wednesday when they host Westfield at 7:30 p.m. in their second home game of the season.
Royals drop MEC game
The Eastern Hancock girls basketball team lost its second straight Mid-Eastern Conference game Saturday to fall to 2-2 in the league.
The Royals, who dropped an away game at Shenandoah 47-36 this past Tuesday, lost at home against Wapahani 44-33 this weekend.
Wapahani led 20-12 at halftime and outscored the Royals 24-21 in the second half to win.
Jocelyn Duncan led the Royals with 11 points on 4 of 8 shooting from the field, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range, while Chloe O’Neal added nine points.
Jenna Smith had a team-high three assists and four rebounds.
The Royals (3-4) will look to bounce back tonight at home against Southwestern (Shelby) at 7:30 p.m.
