New Palestine High School

The New Palestine girls basketball team opens sectional play Wednesday at Mt. Vernon. Wednesday New Palestine Dragons (11-11) vs. Richmond Red Devils (6-15) Time: 6 p.m. Site: Mt. Vernon High School Audio: NewPalRadio.com Tickets: $7, online at https://gofan.co/app/events/862174?schoolId=IN1588 (All-session tickets $15 at https://gofan.co/app/events/862216?schoolId=IN1588) SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons open sectional play against Richmond, seeking the seventh sectional title in school history and the first since 2020. The Dragons have won two sectional titles under coach Sarah Gizzi, in 2018 at Connersville and 2020 at Richmond. They have appeared in the sectional final in four of the previous five seasons. This is the Dragons’ first meeting with Richmond since the 1990 Greenfield-Central regional, a game the Dragons dropped 66-54. That, to date, is the only game between the two schools. The Dragons are 10-3 in sectional games in five seasons under Coach Gizzi. This is the second straight year and the third time in five seasons the sectional will have been played at Mt. Vernon. It was originally supposed to be held at Pendleton Heights, but water damage at PH caused a change. PH will host the 2024 sectional. DRAGONS NOTES Senior Isabella Gizzi holds all of the NPHS scoring records and reached another milestone in Thursday’s senior night, becoming the first female New Palestine basketball player and the second overall to reach 1,600 career points. She now has 1,608 career points. She needs four points to reach the overall NPHS scoring record set by her brother, current Marian University player Maximus Gizzi, in 2020. Gizzi also became the first NPHS girls basketball player to reach 500 points in a season during Thursday’s senior night. She has 524 points this year. Gizzi’s 28-point game against Yorktown marked the 17th time she has reached the 20-point mark this season. It was also her 76th career double-figure game. Allie Blum and Gizzi each had seven rebounds to lead the Dragons against Yorktown. The Dragons had 13 offensive boards in the contest. Earlier last week, the Dragons reached the 11-win mark with a strong 67-59 OT win at Greensburg. It was the first overtime game since a Nov. 13, 2021 win at Southport. Gizzi scored 24 points, including all nine of the Dragons’ overtime points as NP locked down the Pirates and outscored them 9-1 in the extra session. Gizzi also had five rebounds and four assists. Sadey Hughbanks tallied a career-high 15 points - her first double-figure game - on 5-of-8 shooting. She added five rebounds. Vivian Miller scored 14 points, while Blum had eight points and a team-high six rebounds. The Dragons had strong balance in the 58-56 victory over Southport Jan. 21. Gizzi scored 21 points and dished seven assists. Blum had 14 points and six rebounds, while Miller added 13 points and four assists. Miller’s 3-pointer in the final minute, followed by Gizzi’s three free throws rallied the Dragons from a 56-52 deficit. Gizzi’s seven assists against Southport were the most by a Dragon this season. At 23.7 ppg, Gizzi leads the HHC in scoring. She is also seventh in steals (2.8). Miller is second in the league with 2.7 assists per game. SCOUTING THE RED DEVILS Richmond is 6-15 under first-year coach Clay Bolser, who had previously coached two seasons at Oak Hill. The Red Devils enter the sectional having dropped seven of their last eight, including a 61-26 loss to Jay County in the Jan. 24 regular season finale. They did beat Lafayette Jeff 50-27 Jan. 21 for their victory in that stretch. Richmond is led by sophomore Madison Sonsini, who averages 14.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.9 assists per game, leading the Red Devils in each category. Sophomore Maren Bolser adds 7.8 ppg and 3.8 rpg, while sophomore Cami Turpin tallies 5.2 rebounds per contest. Richmond is seeking its first sectional title since 2015. LOOKING AHEAD The winner of this game faces either Anderson (7-14) or Muncie Central (5-16) in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal at Mt. Vernon, with the championship game slated for 7 p.m. Saturday.