Basketball Recap: Kinston Comes Up Short

Kinston suffered their biggest loss since November 17, 2023 on Saturday. They had to suffer through a 54-23 loss at the hands of the New Hanover Wildcats. The defeat continues a trend for the Vikings in their matchups with the Wildcats: they've now lost three in a row.

Despite the loss, Kinston saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Aleah Hill posted 14 points and five rebounds.

Brianna Stanley continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines for New Hanover, going 8-for-14 on her way to 19 points in addition to five assists and five steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Stanley has scored at least a third of New Hanover's points. Another player making a difference was Jazziyah Smith, who went 5-for-7 to rack up 10 points and five boards.

Kinston's defeat dropped their record down to 18-3. As for New Hanover, they have been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 12 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season.

Kinston didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 70-64 win against West Carteret on the 10th. As for New Hanover, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 57-27 victory against West Brunswick on the 11th.