Basketball Recap: East Central Comes Up Short

East Central fought the good fight in their overtime game against New Palestine on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell to the New Palestine Dragons 42-38. While the Trojans didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Dragons 10-2 in the first quarter.

Natalie Stenger

Steals

01/24/25 vs New Palestine	5
01/23/25 vs Madison	2
01/15/25 vs Rushville	3

Despite the loss, East Central saw an underclassman step up: freshman Natalie Stenger went 6 of 13 en route to 16 points along with five boards and five steals. Stenger is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Kaleigh Meadows, who posted ten points.

Sadey Hughbanks was the offensive standout of the match as she earned 15 points. That's the most points she has posted since back in January of 2024. Brooklyn Crim was another key player, putting up four points.

East Central now has a losing record at 9-10. As for New Palestine, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 10-9.

When East Central and New Palestine next hit the court, they'll be up against teams who recently just can't seem to lose. East Central will square off against Lawrenceburg and their five-game winning streak at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Similarly, New Palestine will try to stop Greensburg's 18-game winning streak when the meet at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.