Basketball Game Preview: Hoggard Vikings vs. Topsail Pirates

Hoggard is 10-0 against Topsail since January of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Hoggard Vikings are taking a road trip to square off against the Topsail Pirates at 6:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Hoggard comes in on nine and Topsail on six.

On Friday, Hoggard got the win against Laney by a conclusive 55-34. The Vikings have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 14 matches by 21 points or more this season.

Hoggard's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Tristan Shivers, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten assists. Shivers has been hot recently, having posted eight or more assists the last four times she's played. Avery Fitzgerald was another key player, dropping a double-double on 11 points and 14 boards.

Hoggard smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in eight consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Topsail's strategy against West Brunswick on Friday. Topsail walked away with a 55-43 victory over West Brunswick. Given the Pirates' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 101st, while the Trojans are ranked 240th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Topsail has also been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season. As for Hoggard, their win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-1.

Everything came up roses for Hoggard against Topsail when the teams last played back in January, as the team secured a 55-25 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Hoggard since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.