Hillside has gone 10-0 against East Chapel Hill recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Hillside Hornets will venture away from home to take on the East Chapel Hill Wildcats at 6:30 p.m. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.
Hillside's tournament run continued when they took on Southern School of Energy and Sustainability back in December of 2024. Hillside had to suffer through a 54-27 loss at the hands of Southern School of Energy and Sustainability. While losing is never fun, the Hornets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 408th, while the Spartans are ranked 103rd).
| 12/30/24 vs Southern School of Energy and Sustainability | 2 |
| 12/28/24 vs Union Pines | 2 |
| 12/27/24 @ South Granville | 4 |
The losing side was boosted by Mckenzy Green, who posted five points and five boards. She is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Jayla Smith, who put up four points.
Even though they lost, Hillside smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 14 offensive boards in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, East Chapel Hill played a tough game on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were dealt a 55-22 defeat at the hands of Jordan. The Wildcats have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Hillside will have to keep a close watch on Alana Burroughs and Alison Zaranek, a pair of players who had a big impact on East Chapel Hill's prior game. Burroughs posted eight points and five steals, while Zaranek earned six points.
Hillside's loss dropped their record down to 2-8. As for East Chapel Hill, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-12.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Hillside has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like East Chapel Hill struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Hillside strolled past East Chapel Hill in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 by a score of 67-52. Will Hillside repeat their success, or does East Chapel Hill have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
