DURHAM — For the second time in eight days the Durham Hillside girls basketball showed Northwood just why the Hornets are unbeaten in 3A Big Eight Conference play.
Hillside erupted on a 23-12 run in the fourth quarter to squash an upset bid by a determined Northwood squad, and to take a 51-39 victory in the regular season finale for both teams.
Northwood heads into league tournament action with a 7-7 Big Eight mark, and 13-11 record overall.
Hillside, meanwhile, finished off the regular season crown with a 14-0 conference record, and a 17-5 mark overall.
The contest was a defensive battle in the opening quarter as the Chargers managed to hold Hillside to three points en route to a 7-3 lead.
Northwood used a 15-12 run in the second to take a 22-15 advantage into the half, and appeared to have all the momentum.
That all changed in the third, however, as the Hornets came out tenaciously on the defensive end, which resulted in a 13-5 surge to send the hosts into the fourth with a precarious 28-27 cushion.
In the final eight minutes of play, Hillside showed how dangerous a squad it could be, posting the 23 points to pull away for the double-digit win.
Chandler Adams collected 16 points for the Chargers which shot just 29% (11-38) from the field, which also included a 29% (4-14) clip from behind the arc. The junior Adams was also 3-for-3 from the three-point line while adding four rebounds, a block and two steals in the loss.
Freshman Myla Marve was the only other double-digit scorer for Northwood in the loss with 12 points while adding five boards and a steal.
Rae McClarty added five points, Jyreah Smith five rebounds and five assists, Caitlin Bailey four points, Jaela Harris two points, five boards and a steal, and Mckenna Snively four rebounds.
Dajhah Mcfee tallied 14 points for Hillside in the win while Faith Blackstone added 13, Maliya Sparrow 10, and Cierra Sims eight.
Sims and Blackstone added 12 and 11 rebounds respectively, while Alysiah Taylor chipped in nine, and Sparrow six for the Hornets which owned the boards by a 44-24 count. Blackstone also added five assists and six steals in what was a impressive floor game for the junior while the freshman Sims chipped in and assist and five steals, and Taylor three assists and three steals.
Northwood was scheduled to travel to Chapel Hill on Monday night in opening round action of the 3A Big Eight Conference tournament.