NEW PALESTINE — A win on Senior Night would have been nice.
But right now, New Palestine head coach Craig Moore will be the first to tell you that the Dragons have their sights set on bigger things, and at this point in the season, a tough, hard-fought loss like the Dragons experienced on Tuesday means just as much as a win.
In their final home game of the season, the Dragons (11-10) fell 45-35 to Class 3A No. 7 Greensburg (17-4). They close out the season on Thursday at Yorktown with a chance to earn a share of the Hoosier Heritage Conference title.
“We talked about it in the locker room afterward that nobody hangs their head. Greensburg is a heck of a basketball team and they’re going to have a long run in their sectional and a long run moving on through the state tournament,” New Palestine head coach Craig Moore said. “We’ve got a really good chance on Thursday night to come home as conference champs if we play the way we did tonight. I’m really excited for these girls, and they’ve put themselves in this position with the hard work that they put forth this season. This was a really good game for us to gain some experience and get better.”
On the night in which they were celebrated and played for the last time on their home floor, the Dragons seniors helped them jump out to an early lead.
Senior guard Vivian Miller scored New Palestine’s first six points to grab a 6-3 lead before a layup by classmate Allie Blum made things 8-3.
Later in the quarter, back-to-back Miller baskets capped off a 10-point opening quarter for her and pushed the Dragons lead to double digits, 14-4.
After the opening eight minutes, though, adjustments by Greensburg stalled the New Palestine offense.
The Dragons were held to just three points a piece in both the second and third quarters.
“They picked up their pressure against us and we stopped getting some runouts offensively, which we were getting early on,” Moore said. “Those steals and runouts just slowed a bit after that first quarter.”
With the Dragons offense stymied, the Pirates climbed back.
They began the second period on a 13-0 run, and behind freshman Claire Larrison took their first lead of the game 19-18.
After four quick points to start the quarter by the Pirates, Larrison tallied seven points in 15 seconds to put Greensburg ahead.
She knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 18-15, and then stole back-to-back New Palestine inbound passes and converted layups both times for the 19-18 lead.
Kenna Tweedy tied things back up with the Dragons only three points of the quarter, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Greensburg’s Mylie Wilkison put them ahead at the break.
With the offense sputtering, the Dragons defense kept them in the game throughout the third and fourth quarters.
They held the Pirates scoreless over the first five minutes of the third period and forced 12 second-half turnovers to fight back.
A late third-quarter 8-1 run by the Pirates pushed their lead to 33-24 entering the fourth, but a Blum steal and layup, a Miller 3 and a pair of Blum free throws nearly erased the deficit less than two minutes into the final period.
With three minutes remaining, another New Pal forced turnover allowed Miller to find Blum on the fastbreak for the game-tying basket.
“Our girls adjusted really well defensively in the second half. We started pressuring the perimeter a lot more, and we adjusted our post defense. We weren’t allowing them to get a ball reverse and post entry from the opposite wing,” Moore said. “Our bigs did a really nice job. Sadey [Hughbanks] played with some foul trouble and down the stretch did a really good job. Our communication was there and the rotations were solid, so to hold a team like that to 45 points I’m happy with.”
Tied 35-35, the Pirates closed out the game on a 10-0 run.
Larrison hit the go-ahead basket with just under three minutes remaining, and layups by Leah West and Wilkison closed out the game.
Miller led the Dragons with 14 points, while Blum added 11. Larrison led Greensburg with 19.
–
Greensburg 45, New Palestine 35
Greensburg;8;17;8;12;—;45
New Palestine;18;3;3;11;—;35
Greensburg (17-4): Leah West 2 5-13 10, Mary Harmon 0 2-4 2, Aly Powers 1 2-3 4, Mylie Wilkison 3 2-2 9, Claire Larrison 7 3-4 19, Carlee Adams 0 1-2 1, Emma McQueen 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 15-28 45.
New Palestine (11-10): Allie Blum 4 3-4 11, Vivian Miller 6 1-2 14, Sadey Hughbanks 2 1-2 5, Kylee Beranek 1 0-0 2, Kendra Moore 0 0-0 0, Ella Holman 0 0-2 0, Kenna Tweedy 1 0-0 3. Totals: 14 5-10 35.
3-point goals: Greensburg 4 (Larrison 2, West, Wilkison); New Palestine 2 (Miller, Tweedy).
