St. Pauls unfortunately couldn't capitalize on their home-court advantage in their season opener. They fell 56-47 to the Hoke County Bucks on Tuesday. The Bulldogs were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Bucks apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in November of 2024.

Zhari Shipman
| 11/25/25 vs Hoke County | 2 |
| 02/28/25 @ Goldsboro | 2 |
| 02/25/25 vs James Kenan | 6 |
| 02/14/25 @ Midway | 10 |
| 02/11/25 @ Clinton | 5 |
| + 20 more games |
Loss or not, St. Pauls got some senior leadership from Zhari Shipman and Zykendria Cox. Shipman posted 24 points and five boards, while Cox earned 15 points. Shipman has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 25 times she's played.
Karmen Campbell was nothing short of spectacular for Hoke County: she dropped a double-double with 25 points and ten rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Campbell a new career-high in field goal percentage (73%). Another player making a difference was Ayana Jones, who put up nine points in addition to five assists and five steals.
The victory (which was Hoke County's third in a row) raised their record to 3-0.
Looking ahead, St. Pauls will challenge Scotland at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Hoke County, they will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Seventy-First at 6:00 p.m. on the 5th.
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