Preview: Hillside Hornets vs. Chapel Hill Tigers
Hillside is on a five-game streak of home wins, while Chapel Hill is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Hillside Hornets will take on the Chapel Hill Tigers at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Hillside posted their biggest victory yet this season on Friday. They claimed a resounding 64-28 victory over East Chapel Hill at home. Given Hillside's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 72nd, while East Chapel Hill is ranked 298th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Hillside to victory, but perhaps none more so than Samiyah Barker, who scored 14 points along with five steals. Barker has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last eight times she's played. Another player making a difference was Kynnedy Roberts, who scored eight points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, Chapel Hill scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Friday. They breezed by Northern Durham at home to the tune of 98-5. With Chapel Hill ahead 59-2 at the half, the match was all but over already.
Chapel Hill's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jay Green, who scored 18 points along with two steals. That's the first time this season that Green scored 15 or more points. Jadzia Burnette was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with four steals.
Hillside is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season. As for Chapel Hill, their win bumped their record up to 13-4.
Keep an eye on the arc in Tuesday's matchup: Hillside have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 4.4 threes per game. It's a different story for Chapel Hill, though, as they've been averaging only 2 threes per game. Given Hillside's sizeable advantage in that area, Chapel Hill will need to find a way to close that gap.
Hillside didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Chapel Hill when the teams last played back in February of 2023, but they still walked away with a 49-44 win. Does Hillside have another victory up their sleeve, or will Chapel Hill turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
