BEECH GROVE — Last season was a pretty special one for the New Palestine Dragons girls basketball team.
Their 18-7 record in coach Sarah Gizzi’s first season was the most wins for the program since 1994, and second most in team history.
The Dragons intend to make this season even better. With Tuesday night’s 69-39 road win against Beech Grove, New Palestine (18-2, 7-0 Hoosier Heritage Conference) matched last season’s win total with at least three games left to play.
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Fresh off claiming sole possession of the Hoosier Heritage Conference championship for the first time ever on Friday night, the Dragons wasted no time Tuesday in keeping momentum rolling.
That was the plan coming in.
“That was exactly the message we gave the girls,” Gizzi said. “Beech Grove, they only lost to Rushville by 10. They were in the game with Indian Creek. Those were teams we did not put away, in any way, shape or form, so I think the girls respected that.”
Leah Seib scored the game’s first eight points, part of a 12-0 New Palestine run to open the game. Seib scored 10 in the first quarter, while Katie Herron had four steals in the opening frame to help the Dragons rush out to an early double-digit lead.
“That was our goal,” Herron said. “Before the game it was our goal to just keep on ‘em, start fast.”
The visitors’ defense was strong, holding the Hornets to 5 of 21 shooting in the first half and racking up six steals and three blocks while opening a huge lead.
They kept the pressure on. For the game, the Dragons held Beech Grove to 14 of 48 shooting — 29 percent — and piled up 11 steals.
Offensively, New Palestine got contributions from all over the floor.
The starting five did their part for the Dragons. Seib led all scorers with 19 points and added seven rebounds. Jordan Reid added 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and a steal. Herron had eight points, six rebounds and five steals. Haley Harrison had three points and three assists. Megan Jolly didn’t score but contributed three assists, two steals and two rebounds.
It wasn’t just the starters that played a role.
“I think everyone poured a lot of their efforts into tonight,” Harrison said. “Though we didn’t play our best game, we were all still able to execute. Not only just the starters, but deeper into the bench, people stepped up and gave it their all when they stepped on the court.”
One of the best performances of the night came from senior Claire Cherry, who came off the bench and had her best game of the season.
Cherry finished with a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, while also blocking two shots and getting a steal.
Emily Newcomb and Tatum Biddle also had strong games off the bench, with Newcomb scoring eight points and Biddle adding six points and three rebounds.
“It’s kind of cool because we all know what players are having good games scoring and what players are having bad games scoring, and not even scoring, but all around good or bad games,” Herron said. “For example, Claire Cherry came off the bench and had a wonderful game. We knew she was a big part of this game. Having that team bonding that we have, we’ve been playing with each other since sixth grade.”
The eight New Palestine seniors have just two regular-season games left in their high school careers before beginning sectional play. The Dragons will be at home Tuesday against Lawrence Central and at Cardinal Ritter on Jan. 24.
The goal is simple as the season winds down. Keep momentum up and put together some complete games, something the Dragons haven’t always done this year.
“We’re really focusing on putting four quarters together, no matter the opponent,” Gizzi said. “It’s awesome, because LC and Ritter, they play two different styles. LC plays up-tempo, attack, zone trapping. Ritter’s a different style, not quite as athletic, not quite as fast, so it’s great for our girls to get to play against some different styles as we head into sectionals.”
“It’s important to build momentum going into sectionals and feel good coming in,” Harrison said. “Obviously we have big goals, to go to state. We’re working hard to try to get there.”
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New Palestine 69, Beech Grove 39
New Palestine;16;22;21;10;—;69
Beech Grove;6;11;6;16;—;39
New Palestine (18-2): Leah Seib 8 2-2 19, Jordan Reid 4 3-4 11, Katie Herron 4 0-2 8, Haley Harrison 1 0-0 3, Megan Jolly 0 0-0 0, Tatum Biddle 3 0-0 6, Avery Biggs 0 0-0 0, Claire Cherry 3 6-6 12, Emily Newcomb 3 0-0 8, Faith Hensel 0 2-2 2, Addi Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 13-16 69.
Beech Grove (4-12): Alexiana Blakely 2 3-6 7, Mya Crawford 5 2-2 13, Tia O’Connor 3 1-2 8, Hannah Chandler 0 0-0 0, Lexi Ham 2 2-2 7, Romea Echols 2 1-1 5, Jazz McKnight 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 9-13 39.
3-point goals: New Palestine 4 (Newcomb 2, Seib, Harrison), Beech Grove 3 (Crawford, O’Connor, Ham). Rebounds: New Palestine 36 (Cherry 10, Seib 7, Herron 6, Reid 5, Biddle 3, Jolly 2, Newcomb, Biggs, Hensel), Beech Grove 27 (Blakely 11, Echols 4, Crawford 3, O’Connor 3, Chandler 2, McKnight 2, Ham 1, Webber 1).
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Two other county team were in action Tuesday night, as the Mt. Vernon Marauders were on the road for a game against Richmond and Eastern Hancock traveled to Waldron.
Mt. Vernon 56, Richmond 18
The Marauders jumped out to a 26-4 halftime lead in upping their record to 15-4 on the season.
Waldron 45, Eastern Hancock 41
The Royals fell back to .500 on the season, at 9-9, with a road loss to the Mohawks.
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