New Palestine High School

The New Palestine girls basketball team closes the regular season with Senior Night Tuesday and a chance to clinch a title Thursday. TUESDAY: (3A #4) Greensburg Pirates (16-4) at New Palestine Dragons (11-9) Time: 6 p.m. JV/7:30 p.m. V Location: NPHS Tickets: $6/at gate or https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=65700 Video: IHSAAtv.org/NewPalestine Audio: NewPalRadio.com THURSDAY: New Palestine Dragons (11-9, 5-1 HHC) at Yorktown Tigers (13-8, 3-2 HHC) Time: 6 p.m. JV/7:30 p.m. V Location: Yorktown HS (park on south end of high school near the football field) Tickets: $6, https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=66692&p=101422 SETTING THE SCENE It’s Senior Night for the Dragons, as they honor Allie Blum, Ella Holman and Vivian Miller for four outstanding seasons with the basketball program. The trio has been part of three winning seasons, posting a 52-42 record in their four years in the program. One more victory would clinch the Dragons’ ninth consecutive winning season, setting a program record. The Dragons had eight straight winning seasons from 1991-99. The Dragons lead the all-time series against the Pirates 8-3 This is the Dragons’ fifth game against an EIAC school. NP is 2-2 against the league. Thursday, the Dragons meet the Tigers with a chance to clinch a piece of the Hoosier Heritage conference title. NP can win a share of its third HHC title overall and first since 2019 with a victory. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons enter Senior Night having played a solid contest in a 61-36 victory over Waldron. The Dragons dominated the glass in that game, outrebounding Waldron 48-36, including 25 offensive boards. Allie Blum tallied her first double-double of the season and the second of her career with 23 points and 12 rebounds, the latter tying a career high. Vivian Miller had 12 points, five boards and six assists. Kylee Beranek and Kendra Moore each had seven rebounds. Ella Holman and Natalie Sevier tallied five boards each, while Kenna Tweedy scored 11 off the bench. Miller’s solid all-around performance came after she scored a career-high 25 points Jan. 12 against Pendleton Heights. Miller leads the HHC in assists, dishing 3.6 per game. Blum is fifith at 2.4 assists per contest. Blum ranks third in the HHC in scoring at 17.8 ppg. Miller is 10th at 11.4 ppg. Blum also ranks third in the conference in steals at 3.8 per contest. Miller is 10th (2.3 spg). Among players with at least 10 made 3-pointers this season, Tweedy leads the conference with a 41% accuracy rate from deep. SCOUTING THE PIRATES Greensburg enters the week having won five of its last six, including a 59-46 win over Batesville Saturday. The Pirates’ lone loss in that stretch was a 60-56 defeat to Warren Central Jan. 16. Greensburg ranks ninth in the state in scoring at 63.1 ppg. SCOUTING THE TIGERS Yorktown enters the week having won four of five, including a pair of wins last week - 47-46 at Frankton and 60-52 at New Castle. Yorktown plays Greenfield-Central Tuesday before facing the Dragons. The Tigers are led by sophomore Lilly Sylvester, who averages 14.4 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Sophomore Addy Barnes adds 8.7 ppg and 2.7 apg. LOOKING AHEAD The Dragons open sectional play Jan. 31 at Pendleton Heights against Greenfield-Central. The winner faces either Pendleton Heights or Muncie Central Feb. 2. FOLLOW US Follow the Dragons on Facebook (@newpalestinedragons), Twitter (@NPHSDragons), Instagram (@newpalestinedragons) and online (NewPalestineAthletics.com). All Dragons home games are broadcast live at NewPalRadio.com and available via pay-per-view at IHSAAtv.org. NewPalRadio.com also broadcasts all IHSAA tournament games and select road games. Photo credit: Aaron Smith