Izzy Hepworth drives in for a layup.
David Johnson|Sampson Independent
Katie Britt goes up for a shot.
David Johnson|Sampson Independent
Gracie Barefoot gets off a contested shot.
David Johnson|Sampson Independent
Friday night marked the first post-holiday basketball games for the Hobbton Lady Wildcats as they hit the court for the first time in 2025. They have’s off against Princeton High School for the second time this season, a team they lost to 60-15 before Christmas. The second meeting didn’t go much better for the Lady Wildcats, as they fell by the 49-23 final score.
Turnovers plagued Hobbton in the first minute and a half of the first quarter, while Princeton also took advantage of offensive rebounding. Though their shooting percentage was low, the Lady Bulldogs took a 7-0 lead. The Lady Wildcats only shot throughout the first three minutes was a 3-pointer that was off the mark. Outside of that, they struggled to get anything going and asked for timeout with 5:10 remaining in the first quarter. Izzy Hepworth finally got Hobbton on scoreboard with a baseline jumper around the 4:20 mark and the score was 8-2. After that, Princeton hit on back-to-back triples and their lead was 13-4. Katie Britt got another basket for the Lady Wildcats, but still, they were unable to secure possession as the Lady Bulldogs continued to work Hobbton over. Both teams got sloppy at the end of the quarter but the score 16-5 in favor of Princeton.
At the start of the second quarter, Madison Sinclair banked in a shot for the Lady Wildcats and Britt added another jumper, making it 18-10. After that, though, Princeton outpaced Hobbton 10-4 down the stretch and took a 28-14 lead into the intermission.
Both teams started off the second half with missed shots but it was Britt getting an early jumper for the Lady Wildcats. The Lady Bulldogs returned the favor with a made 3-pointer and the new score was 33-16. From there, Princeton continued to out score Hobbton in big chunks, utilizing a full-court defense to stifle the Lady Wildcats. By the end of the third quarter, they had outpaced the home team 15-4 to take a 43-18 lead.
Scoring was obsolete down the stretch with both teams trading empty possessions. Princeton substituted in a lot of their reserve players and remained in their full-court defense. With only three substitutes available on Hobbton’s bench, exhaustion was certainly playing a factor. The Lady Bulldogs hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the horn, cementing their 49-23 victory.
The leading corer for the Lady Wildcats was Britt, with 11 points. Behind her were Hepworth with five points, Sinclair with three, and Lily Bowden and Peyton Phillips each with two.
With the loss, Hobbton is now 1-5 on the season and will enjoy a long break before beginning conference play their next time on the court. That game is a road trip to Rosewood on Jan. 14.