Basketball Game Preview: New Site Royals vs. Hamilton Lions

The New Site Royals are taking a road trip to challenge the Hamilton Lions at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (New Site has three straight victories, Hamilton has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

While New Site's win against Baldwyn wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Royals sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 48-46 victory over the Bearcats on Tuesday.

New Site found their leader in sophomore Bella Green, who posted 22 points and three steals. Green's evening made it three games in a row in which she has scored at least 22 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kayleigh Knight, who put up nine points and three steals.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Hamilton duked it out with Hatley on Tuesday. The Lions fell 69-58 to the Tigers. While losing is never fun, the Lions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi basketball rankings (they are ranked 250th, while the Tigers are ranked 98th).

New Site's win bumped their record up to 18-5. As for Hamilton, their loss dropped their record down to 3-13.

Everything came up roses for New Site against Hamilton in their previous matchup back in January of 2025, as the team secured a 57-18 victory. In that matchup, the Royals amassed a halftime lead of 35-12, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.