PENDLETON — Craig Moore noticed a striking similarity between his New Palestine Dragons' start to Wednesday's Class 4A Sectional 9 quarterfinal vs. Greenfield-Central and their second game of 2024 vs. Class 2A Triton Central.

Their shooters weren't being aggressive enough, the first-year head coach said, so he called a timeout to remind the players of that performance and how they dug out of a 14-point deficit to down the Tigers: They shot the ball.

"We had a lot of open looks (against Triton Central), we were moving the ball well, but nobody wanted to shoot it," Moore said. "So I referenced that game in our first timeout, then we came out, got some shots up and hit them. It's been a work in progress to get the girls to want to shoot the basketball, but they've done a good job."

Girls basketball sectionals: Central Indiana scores, stats, schedule

Message received, lesson applied.

After surrendering the first five points, the Dragons closed the first quarter on a 12-2 run, then used a 16-4 run between the third and fourth quarters to fend off the Cougars, 42-35.

New Palestine (13-10) will face host Pendleton Heights in Friday's second semifinal.

Greenfield-Central, which picked off NP in overtime earlier this year, finishes the season 17-7.

"We've played like that before, timid and not ready to shoot," senior guard Vivian Miller said. "I think once (Moore) said that to us, we all flipped the switch and were like, we need to shoot and come out strong. And that's what we did."

Senior Allie Blum personified New Palestine's night. After attempting just four field goals through the first two quarters, the Kentucky softball commit scored nine of her team-high 13 points in the second half, knocking down all three field goal attempts and 3-of-4 free throws.

Blum, who rounded out her line with eight rebounds and two assists, converted a recovered pass into a field goal to cap a 10-0 third-quarter run that swung a three-point deficit to a seven-point lead, then polished off the aforementioned 16-4 surge with a pair of free throws to give NP a nine-point lead, its largest of the night.

"I flipped my mindset in the second half," Blum said. "I was really focusing on doing what I needed to for my team because I really wanted that win and I knew everyone else did, as well."

"She's a heck of an athlete," Moore said of Blum. "She plays 100 miles per hour all the time. I never have to get on her about her effort. As she and Viv go, we go."

Madison Sonsini shined for Greenfield-Central between the second and third quarters. She scored eight straight points, including the game-tying 3-pointer from half-court at the halftime buzzer and the go-ahead layup to open the third, before setting up Chaney Brown to cap the surge.

Brown provided a spark late in the third, halting New Pal's 10-0 run with a pair of free throws. The junior eclipsed 1,000 career points with her first attempt, which drew a loud reaction from the Cougars bench and brought the entire team back to life as they clawed back within five.

"I thought we were going to be able to get it going the right way, but that's a scrappy team," Greenfield-Central coach Bradley Key said of New Palestine. "If we're going to be able to beat New Pal, we have to be able to fight with them. Kudos to them."

The Cougars remained within two possessions down the stretch, but were unable to break through, largely doomed by a 2-for-22 showing from behind the arc.

Brown paced the team with 17 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Sonsini recorded nine points, 10 rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. Elizabeth Silcox finished with five points and three boards.

Greenfield-Central's 17 wins are its most since 2016-17 (17). The Cougars return all but two players from this year's roster, including Sonsini, Brown, Brooklyn McConnell and Izzy Silcox, all of whom averaged 8-14 points this season.

"If you told me before the season we were going to win 17 games, I'd have said sign me up right now," Key said. "We played some really good basketball and hit a lot of shots this year. That was the hard part about tonight."

In addition to Blum's 13, the Dragons also picked up 10 points and three assists from Miller and 10 points from Kendra Moore.

They were 7-for-11 from the field in the second half with three triples, and out-rebounded GC, 33-22.

New Palestine now has a rematch with Pendleton Heights. The Dragons beat the Arabians, 52-48, on Jan. 12.

Arabians cruise by Muncie Central; look ahead to New Pal

The host Arabians left no room for drama and even less room for intrigue in the night's second semifinal, holding Muncie Central without a field goal until the 3:21 mark of the second quarter (21-1 after one) en route to a sweat-free 53-13 triumph.

Junior Kaycie Warfel led the way with 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting with four rebounds and five steals, while freshman Adah Hupfer tallied 11 points, 12 rebounds, an assist, two blocks and three steals.

The Arabians shot 57% from the field, whilst limiting the Bearcats to only 20 shot attempts.

Now things get interesting.

New Palestine face-guarded Warfel during their regular-season meeting, limiting the Arabians' leading scorer to 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting with six turnovers. The 6-3 Hupfer added 15 points.

There is no secret as to New Pal's game plan entering Friday: "Focusing on taking Kaycie away, in all honesty," Blum said. "She's their best player and if we can take her out of the game, we'll win again."

And Pendleton Heights is well aware of this. Said Warfel: "It was hard, really hard for me to score against them the first time around, so we're making a bunch of adjustments in practice to try and get me open."

The winner of Friday's semifinal will likely face three-time defending sectional champion Mt. Vernon in Saturday's final. The Marauders play Richmond in their semifinal.

"We really want the sectional," Warfel said "We want to do something that hasn't been done here in a really long time. We'll come in prepared."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls basketball: New Palestine beats Greenfield-Central