Basketball Recap: Hickory Takes a Loss

Hickory lost against East Lincoln back in December of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The game between the Hickory Red Tornadoes and the East Lincoln Mustangs didn't end well, with the Hickory Red Tornadoes falling 70-56. While losing is never fun, the Red Tornadoes can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 371st, while the Mustangs are ranked 98th).

It was another big night for Emma Montanari, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and ten assists for East Lincoln. The dominant performance gave Montanari a new career-high in assists. Taniyah Thomas was another key player, putting up 12 points and three steals.

Hickory dropped their record down to 3-10 with the loss, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.5 points per game. As for East Lincoln, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-4 record this season.

Hickory will square off against North Lincoln at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. North Lincoln will roll in looking for their 17th straight victory, something Hickory surely won't give up without a fight. As for East Lincoln, they will face off against Statesville at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. East Lincoln is facing Statesville at the right time seeing as Statesville is stuck on a four-game losing streak.