New Palestine High School

The New Palestine girls basketball team rallied from a six-point halftime deficit Tuesday to beat Shelbyville 59-51 at the Golden Bears' Garrett Gymnasium. The victory gives the Dragons five straight wins and improves their record to 7-3 overall and 3-0 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference. The Dragons trailed 23-17 at the break, but put up 21 third-quarter points to take a 38-36 lead, with Isabella Gizzi's third 3-pointer of the quarter giving the Dragons the lead. After a basket by Shelbyville, Vivian Miller hit a shot ahead of the buzzer to put the Dragons up by two going into the final eight minutes. The Dragons opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run to go up 46-38, with Gizzi and Miller hitting back-to-back 3-pointers and Gizzi a basket. Shelbyville answered with six straight points to cut the lead to two before Gizzi hit two free throws. A three-point play by Shelbyville's Kylee Edwards cut the advantage to 48-47. Gizzi again hit two free throws and Shelbyville a basket to keep the margin at 50-49. Allie Blum then hit a fast break layup to put the Dragons up three in the final 90 seconds. The Dragons strung together several stops and Gizzi hit six straight free throws to put the game away before a Shelbyville basket in the final 10 seconds. Gizzi finished the night with 35 points, scoring 27 in the second half. It was the second-highest total of her career and the third-highest in school history. Miller added 14 points, with nine coming in the second half. Blum tallied six points. Ella Holman and Natalie Sevier scored two points each. The Dragons raced out to a 12-5 lead after a quarter, using strong defense, five points from Gizzi and a 3-pointer by Miller to get going. But Shelbyville responded, outscoring the Dragons 18-5 in the second quarter to take a six-point halftime lead. The Dragons next play at 6 p.m. Friday at Greenfield-Central as the first half of a boys/girls doubleheader. The JV team will play G-C at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Dragons JV dropped a 36-34 decision to the Golden Bears.