Basketball Game Preview: Chapel Hill Tigers vs. Hillside Hornets

Chapel Hill and Hillside are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2022, but not for long. The Chapel Hill Tigers will be playing at home against the Hillside Hornets at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Chapel Hill is coming into the contest hot, having won their last 12 games.

If Chapel Hill beats Hillside with 61 points on Tuesday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two matchups with that exact score. Chapel Hill simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat East Chapel Hill 61-19. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 16 games by 21 points or more this season.

Scarlett Gilner

Blocked Shots (Career)

02/14/25 @ East Chapel Hill	3
02/05/25 @ Jordan	2
02/04/25 @ Riverside-Durham	2
01/25/25 vs Hillside	2
12/13/24 vs Carrboro	2

Chapel Hill's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Scarlett Gilner, who dropped a double-double with 13 points and ten rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Gilner a new career-high in blocks (three). Dezariyah Clark was another key player, putting up six points in addition to seven assists and five steals.

Meanwhile, after only 23 points in their last contest, Hillside made sure to put some points up on the board against Riverside-Durham on Monday. Hillside blew past Riverside-Durham 55-15. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 29-5.

Chapel Hill pushed their record up to 21-3 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 20.7 points over those games. As for Hillside, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight games, which provided a massive bump to their 8-15 record this season.

Everything came up roses for Chapel Hill against Hillside in their previous matchup on Tuesday, as the team secured a 61-31 win. Does Chapel Hill have another victory up their sleeve, or will Hillside turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.