INDIANAPOLIS — It was the playoff atmosphere the New Palestine Dragons wanted on Tuesday night, but it wasn’t the result.
Up on Lawrence Central by 16 points early in the second half, the Dragons watched as their advantage dropped into the single digits before losing 75-69.
“I thought we put together two and a half to two and three-quarters of good basketball. We were up by 16 with about three minutes to go in the third quarter, and then we were up by nine heading into the fourth,” New Palestine head coach Sarah Gizzi said. “We gave up too many offensive rebounds, which we knew was a strength of theirs, but turnovers.”
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The Bears (14-7) couldn’t get any closer than five points early in the fourth quarter and trailed 67-57 with 5:09 left in the game, but a 14-0 run and seven Dragons’ turnovers spoiled an otherwise solid night for New Palestine.
Utilizing ball movement to counter Lawrence Central’s zone, the Dragons (14-7) opened the game with a 10-3 run that put them ahead and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Grace Marshall secured a 23-17 lead after the first quarter.
Marshall, Isabella Gizzi and Jordan Reid each finished in double figures. Reid led the Dragons with 23 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
Marshall had 15 points, while Gizzi added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, but the Bears kept creeping back.
New Palestine went up 33-21 in the second quarter with a 10-4 run. The Bears answered behind 25 points from Tori Smiley, 12 points by Da’Naria Washington and 18 points from Jaliah Nailor.
A Smiley 3-pointer cut the lead 42-38 before halftime.
Marshall drained a baseline jumper with 3:15 left in the third quarter to give New Palestine its largest lead 56-40, then the Bears scored nine unanswered points to close the gap.
“I didn’t think we were going to maintain that level of shot making for the entire game, so I thought our defense settled in, but they started jacking more and getting some and-1 shots,” Sarah Gizzi said. “They got multiple multi-shot possessions.”
The final push by the Bears came as the Dragons offense fell silent. Through the first three quarters, New Palestine shot 55 percent from the field. In the fourth, they were 3-of-14 and went more than four minutes without a point.
The Bears rallied to go up 71-67 with 1:17 remaining.
“It is good to get some pressure on the girls and forced them to make some decisions (before sectional), but quite frankly I had hoped we would be better with that by now,” Gizzi said. “You can’t say anymore that we’re inexperienced. That’s what I told them. Four of the six main girls I play didn’t play varsity last year, but at this point in the season now, there’s no excuse. I know they’re still young, but we need a little bit more.”
The Dragons will open the Class 4A Richmond Sectional next week on Feb. 5 against rival Mt. Vernon, who is ranked in the top 10 and defeated New Palestine 44-25 during the regular season.
The Dragons have one more road game before finishing the regular season at Indianapolis Ritter on Thursday night.
“This is definitely a team we could have beaten,” Isabella Gizzi said. “It’s definitely frustrating, but I think we played well all the way through the third quarter, and then we just didn’t do as well in the fourth and let it slip. It just didn’t go our way, and it fell apart.”
