New Palestine High School

The New Palestine girls basketball team opens HHC play Tuesday at home against New Castle. Tuesday, Nov. 29: New Palestine Dragons (4-3) vs. New Castle Trojans (0-7) Time: 6 p.m. JV/7:30 p.m. V Site: NPHS gymnasium Tickets: https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=24074 Audio: NewPalRadio.com Video: https://www.ihsaatv.org/newpalestine ($) Saturday, Dec. 3: New Palestine Dragons (4-3) at Delta Eagles (3-4) Time: 11:30 a.m. JV/1 p.m. V Site: Delta HS Tickets: Available at door SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons open conference play this week, playing the first two of five consecutive contests against HHC foes over a 15-day span. Tuesday’s game also concludes a four-game homestand as the Dragons open with six of their first eight at home. The Dragons lead the all-time series with New Castle 7-5, including 5-4 in the regular season. The schools began playing annually when New Castle joined the HHC in 2013. NC won last year’s meeting 54-51, snapping a five-year Dragons winning streak in the series. The Dragons hit the road for the third time this season with a Saturday trip to Delta. The Dragons lead the all-time series 23-3, having won nine straight and 18 of the last 19 meetings. NP won a 61-41 decision last season. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons posted two victories over quality programs last week, beating Rushville 63-56 and Whiteland 71-50. Both games marked the team’s two best offensive outputs of the season. The Dragons had a 25-point second quarter against Whiteland - their first 25-point quarter since tallying 26 against Greensburg in a 66-60 victory Dec. 20, 2021. Isabella Gizzi scored 10 points and Vivian Miller nine in the quarter. Gizzi tallied 33 points against Whiteland, hitting 11-19 from the floor, 3-6 from 3-point range and 8-10 from the line. It tied for the second-most points in her career - she also scored 33 against Whiteland last season - and was her fifth career 30-point game. Gizzi also added six rebounds and a career-high-tying six assists. Miller scored a career-high 17 points against the Warriors. She was 5-9 from the floor and 7-12 from the line, including four key free throws in the closing minutes to put the game away. Fellow junior Allie Blum also tied her career high with 14 points and added six rebounds. The Dragons shot a season-best 52.3% against Whiteland (23-44). Gizzi became the Dragons’ career scoring leader Nov. 15 against Franklin Central and now has 1,260 career points. Against Rushville, freshman Sadey Hughbanks had a career game with nine points and eight rebounds. The Dragons hit a season-best 6-of-11 from 3-point range, with Gizzi, Blum and Miller draining two each. Gizzi tallied 28 points, hitting 12-14 from the line. SCOUTING THE TROJANS New Castle is seeking its first victory of the season. Junior Emma Hart leads New Castle with an 18.3 ppg average. The Trojans are 0-2 in conference play, having fallen 65-36 to Pendleton Heights Nov. 8 and 64-42 to Delta Nov. 15. SCOUTING THE EAGLES The Eagles enter the week on a two-game skid, having fallen 50-33 to Wapahani Nov. 18 and 68-36 to Yorktown Nov. 22. The Eagles are 1-1 in HHC play. Delta plays Wednesday against Winchester. NEXT UP The Dragons continue their road swing next week, visiting Shelbyville Dec. 6 and opening a boys/girls doubleheader at Greenfield-Central Dec. 9.