Preview: Hillside Hornets vs. Riverside-Durham Pirates
Hillside is 10-0 against Riverside-Durham since November of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Hillside Hornets will stay at home for another game and welcome the Riverside-Durham Pirates at 6:30 p.m. on February 2nd. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Hillside stacked a seventh blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They really took it to Jordan for the full four quarters, racking up a 54-26 win at home. With Hillside ahead 29-8 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
Sa?nya Horton and Samiyah Barker were among the main playmakers for Hillside as the former scored 13 points along with four steals and the latter scored 16 points along with eight assists and six rebounds. That's the first time this season that Barker posted eight or more assists. Kayden Sims was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, Riverside-Durham had to endure a four-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They came out on top against Northern Durham by a score of 41-34 on Friday.
Jasmine Chapman was on fire: she almost dropped a triple-double on 22 points, 12 rebounds, and nine steals. That's the first time this season that she pulled down eight or more rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Shameia Holder, who scored seven points along with seven rebounds and four steals.
Hillside has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-6 record this season. As for Riverside-Durham, their victory bumped their record up to 4-15.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: Hillside have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.1 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Riverside-Durham, though, as they've been averaging only 6.4 rebounds per game. Given Hillside's sizeable advantage in that area, Riverside-Durham will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Hillside against Riverside-Durham in their previous matchup on January 12th as the squad secured a 55-15 victory. Does Hillside have another victory up their sleeve, or will Riverside-Durham turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
