Basketball Game Preview: Asheville Cougars vs. North Buncombe Black Hawks

The Asheville Cougars will head out on the road to challenge the North Buncombe Black Hawks at 8:00 p.m. on Monday. North Buncombe took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Asheville, who comes in off a win.

Asheville is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took down Enka 84-65 on Thursday. The Cougars haven't had any issues with the Jets recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Hayziah Dillingham

Points

02/13/25 @ Enka	28
02/11/25 @ North Buncombe	15
02/07/25 vs McDowell	7
02/04/25 vs T.C. Roberson	7
01/31/25 @ A.C. Reynolds	4
+ 35 more games

It was another big night for Hayziah Dillingham, who shot 5-for-9 from beyond the arc and almost dropped a triple-double with 28 points, nine rebounds, and ten assists. That's the most points she has posted since back in December of 2023. Another player making a difference was Zaryah Tucker, who went 7-for-15 on her way to 21 points and five boards.

Meanwhile, North Buncombe lost to Erwin on the road by a 53-39 margin on Thursday. The defeat continues a trend for the Black Hawks in their matchups with the Warriors: they've now lost three in a row.

Despite the loss, North Buncombe saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Aubrey Gilliland went 8-for-13 en route to 19 points and five steals. Gilliland is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed four or more in each of the last four games she's played. Olivia Stowe was another key player, going 7-for-17 to rack up 16 points and five rebounds.

The victory got Asheville back to even at 12-12. As for North Buncombe, their defeat dropped their record down to 16-8.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Asheville has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.6 boards per game. However, it's not like North Buncombe struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Asheville came up short against North Buncombe when the teams last played on Tuesday, falling 58-53. Can Asheville avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.