Basketball Game Preview: Hillside Hornets vs. Northern Durham Knights

Hillside is on a four-game streak of home losses also dating back to last season, Northern Durham an 11-game streak of away losses also dating back to last season, but someone's luck will change on Wednesday. The Hillside Hornets will host the Northern Durham Knights at 6:30 p.m. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

Hillside's tournament run continued when they took on Southern School of Energy and Sustainability last Monday. Hillside was dealt a 54-27 defeat at the hands of Southern School of Energy and Sustainability. While losing is never fun, the Hornets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 414th, while the Spartans are ranked 136th).

Mckenzy Green put forth a good effort for the losing side as she posted five points and five rebounds. She has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. Jayla Smith was another key player, putting up four points.

Even though they lost, Hillside smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 14 offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 59-25, which was the final score in Northern Durham's tilt against Person on Friday.

Hillside's loss dropped their record down to 2-8. As for Northern Durham, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-6.

Everything came up roses for Hillside against Northern Durham when the teams last played back in February of 2024, as the squad secured a 68-12 win. In that matchup, Hillside amassed a halftime lead of 42-6, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Wednesday.