NEW PALESTINE — How did the New Palestine Dragons girls basketball team follow one of the best seasons in program history, an 18-7 mark in 2017-18?
That 18-win season was the second most victories in program history. The Dragons surpassed that mark Tuesday night with a big win against Lawrence Central.
They broke the school record for wins in a season Thursday night, topping Cardinal Ritter 67-55 to finish the regular season 20-2, one win better than the 1992-93 Dragons team that held the record for 25 years.
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It was a fitting Senior Night finale for an accomplished senior class.
Starting in their last home game were Leah Seib, Haley Harrison, Katie Herron and Megan Jolly. The other New Palestine seniors — Avery Biggs, Claire Cherry, Tatum Biddle and Emily Newcomb — all played in the win.
The senior class now holds school records for most wins in a four-year span (71), most wins in a season (20), and captured sole possession of the Hoosier Heritage Conference championship for the first time in school history with a 7-0 run through HHC play.
“I told them in the locker room, they were one of the main reasons I decided to take the coaching job,” New Palestine coach Sarah Gizzi said. “I knew I would have them for two years. I knew how hard they work. They are just an exceptional group of girls. Collectively as a class, they are probably one of our best to come through. I can’t imagine we have had any deeper groups that have come through our school.”
Getting their record 20th didn’t come easy. While Reid sparked the Dragons to an early lead with 10 quick first-quarter points, Ritter didn’t fall far behind. New Palestine led 23-18 after a quarter but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Ritter’s Linsey Waggoner left the game tied, 33-33, at the half.
“It was very emotional. That’s probably why we got off to a really slow start and it was tight at halftime,” Seib said. “But it meant a lot to us. Kind of sad, but we still have sectionals.”
“We knew that Ritter was tough, and aggressive, we knew they were physical,” Gizzi said. “We knew we had a little bit of mismatch issues. We did not overlook them in any way; we knew they were going to be solid. We were just a little disappointed in our own defensive effort.”
It took until the fourth quarter for the Dragons to finally start pulling away, opening up a double-digit lead. The defense tightened up each quarter, allowing 18 points in the first, 15 in the second, 12 in the third and just 10 points in the final quarter.
The Dragons were led by Seib, who scored 24 points on 8 of 10 shooting and was a perfect 8 of 8 from the foul line. She added four rebounds.
Reid, the only non-senior to play for New Palestine, wasn’t far behind, scoring 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds. She added five assists and two steals.
All of the seniors contributed in the game. Biddle scored nine and grabbed four rebounds, Jolly added seven points and four steals, Harrison scored five, Herron had two points and a game-high eight rebounds, and Cherry scored a late layup off an assist from Biggs. Newcomb didn’t find her way onto the scoreboard but played a big stretch of minutes in the win.
“They know how much I care about them,” Gizzi said of the seniors. “Just great examples for the younger girls. Super inclusive and really good role models. They really set the tone for how I would like my program to look.”
New Palestine next plays in a Feb. 1 sectional semifinal against the winner of Tuesday’s Greenfield-Central and Richmond game. The Dragons will play in the second semifinal Friday night, at 7:30 p.m.
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New Palestine 67, Cardinal Ritter 55
CR;18;15;12;10;—;55
NP;23;10;15;19;—;67
Ritter (15-8): Meghan Sandifer 5 2-5 12, Gabby Hicks 4 0-0 9, Emma Litzelman 3 4-5 10, Chloe Olejnik 4 3-5 11, Elna Closser 0 2-4 2, Linsey Waggoner 2 0-0 6, Kelsey Waggoner 2 0-0 5. Totals: 20 11-19 55.
New Palestine (20-2): Leah Seib 8 8-8 24, Jordan Reid 6 6-8 18, Haley Harrison 2 0-0 5, Katie Herron 0 2-2 2, Megan Jolly 3 0-2 7, Tatum Biddle 4 1-2 9, Emily Newcomb 0 0-0 0, Claire Cherry 1 0-0 2, Avery Biggs 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 17-22 67.
3-point goals: Ritter 4 (L. Waggoner 2, K. Waggoner, Hicks), New Palestine 2 (Harrison, Jolly).
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The rest of the Hancock County girls basketball teams were in action Thursday night, as Eastern Hancock played at home while Mt. Vernon and Greenfield-Central took to the road.
Girls basketball scores
Eastern Hancock 48, Tri 32
Avon 40, Greenfield-Central 35
Mt. Vernon 43, Delta 31
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