Croatan kicked off their season on the road on Tuesday and hit a couple of potholes. They fell just short of the Topsail Pirates by a score of 42-39. While the Cougars didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Pirates 12-4 in the first quarter.

Leah Johnson
| 11/18/25 @ Topsail | 5 |
| 02/28/25 vs Seventy-First | 2 |
| 02/25/25 vs West Carteret | 2 |
| 02/21/25 vs West Carteret | 2 |
| 02/18/25 @ Richlands | 4 |
| + 3 more games |
Croatan's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Leah Johnson, who dropped a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Neely McMannen, who posted 12 points. Johnson has been hot, having also posted two or more blocks the last eight times she's played. Another player making a difference was Sunny Johnson, who scored eight points.
Topsail had a senior duo take command as Reed Garofano almost dropped a double-double with 12 points and nine boards and Charley Moore dropped a double-double with 17 points and ten rebounds. Jaelyn Dabideen was another key player, putting up three points along with nine boards and three steals.
Croatan didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 58-39 victory against James Kenan on the 24th. As for Topsail, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 56-43 defeat against Cleveland on the 20th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps