FORTVILLE — It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done.
While the New Palestine offense was struggling, the Dragons defense was smothering Greenfield-Central.
The Cougars made just one shot in the first half, going 1 of 12 from the floor, but had success at the free throw line, making 10 of 14 attempts. The Dragons, despite a sluggish start offensively, opened up a 19-12 halftime lead.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Click here to purchase photos from this galleryNew Palestine’s defense kept the Cougars from scoring a basket for over 18 minutes during one stretch, helping open up a huge lead that would propel the Dragons to tonight’s sectional finals with a 46-23 semifinal win.
“We really wanted to pressure certain people, deny certain people, try to limit them to one shot,” New Palestine coach Sarah Gizzi said. “I thought that we did that, but we got a little sloppy with our defense, and got them a lot of fouls, a lot of free throws in the first half. I thought our first half was not good, but we still had the lead, so that was a positive.”
“I actually liked the start of the game, personally,” Greenfield-Central coach Bradley Key said. “To compete with them is hard, and I thought the first quarter we competed. Our shots weren’t falling, but we did a great job of attacking. We did a good job of that, but we just didn’t hit any shots to kind of open it up. That’s a really good team, 21-2, they’re great. I thought we did a good job up until a minute-and-a-half to go in the second quarter. Up until then I was really happy with how we were playing.”
After the Cougars tied the game at 12 early in the second quarter, New Palestine scored 12 straight points before the Cougars’ second field goal of the game — a 3-pointer from Hannah Farrell with 3:06 left in the third quarter — cut the deficit back to single digits.
Greenfield-Central had a hard time all night finding open looks.
“We knew that we could wear Greenfield down a little bit, because we’re a little deeper than them,” Gizzi said. “Even though we didn’t play a great first half, we felt good about how it was going because we were limiting their field goals. They felt like they could keep pushing and wear them down a little bit.”
New Palestine had another big run, scoring the first 15 points of the fourth quarter, to put the game out of reach.
Neither offense could get in a rhythm for much of the game, but the Dragons fared significantly better, finishing 19 of 41 from the field.
The Cougars made just three field goal attempts, finishing 3 of 25 from the floor in the loss. They were 16 of 26 from the free throw line, staying in the game for over a half by attacking aggressively and drawing fouls.
New Palestine was led by Leah Seib, who scored 13 points and had seven rebounds. Jordan Reid had 9 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Katie Herron added 9 points and six rebounds.
Farrell led the Cougars with 13 points, six rebounds and two steals. Lydia McIntire had 5 points.
“Give a lot of credit to them. We were 3 for 25 from the field,” Key said. “You’re not going to beat anyone doing that. You never want to lose, and for the ones coming back, it’ll leave a bad taste in your mouth. But I have great kids. What a good first year to have. I can’t say enough about Lydia. She really came on strong at the end of the year. And Keryna Barrett has my mentality of competing, and that’s starting to rub off on the other girls. We’re going to miss them next year.”
While the Cougars’ season has come to a close, New Palestine has at least one more game left, tonight’s sectional final rematch against host Mt. Vernon.
The Dragons won a sectional title last year by topping the Marauders in the finals. They bested their county rivals again this year during the regular season.
They are ready for a championship fight.
“We know each other really well,” Gizzi said. “It’s two teams that have played a lot. Four times the last two years. They have more of a change in personnel than we do, but what they do is very similar to what they did last year. I don’t think there are going to be any surprises. I just think it comes down to execution, and the girls know that.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Boxscore” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
New Palestine 46, Greenfield-Central 23
New Palestine;11;8;12;15;—;46
Greenfield-Central;9;3;6;5;—;23
New Palestine (21-2): Leah Seib 5 3-4 13, Jordan Reid 4 1-2 9, Katie Herron 4 1-5 9, Haley Harrison 1 0-0 3, Megan Jolly 0 1-3 1, Tatum Biddle 3 0-0 6, Emily Newcomb 1 1-2 3, Claire Cherry 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 7-16 46.
Greenfield-Central (10-14): Hannah Farrell 2 8-13 13, Lydia McIntire 0 5-6 5, Crystal Peterson 0 2-5 2, Addie Hill 0 0-0 0, Keryna Barrett 0 1-2 1, Brooke Herrell 1 0-0 2. Totals: 3 16-26 23.
3-point goals: New Palestine 1 (Harrison), Greenfield-Central 2 (Farrell, Herrell).
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: Sectional 9 Championship Game
Who: New Palestine vs. Mt. Vernon
When: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Mt. Vernon High School
Cost: $6
[sc:pullout-text-end]