Aleah Hill Drops 22 as Kinston Runs Away from Jacksonville 63-39

Kinston Girls Snap 5-Game Skid Against Jacksonville with Dominant Second-Half Surge

Kinston, NC – The (3A) Kinston Vikings opened the 2025-26 season in style Thursday night, putting an end to a five-game losing streak against (6A) Jacksonville with a convincing 63-39 victory at home.

The win, Kinston’s first over the Cardinals since the 2014-15 season, was fueled by a balanced attack and a suffocating second half that saw the Vikings outscore Jacksonville 39-24 after the break.

Senior standout Aleah Hill poured in a game-high 22 points to lead all scorers, while K’Niyah Whitfield added 11 and Nashayla Mason chipped in 9. Four different Vikings – Hill, Kiarah Pearson, Nashayla Mason, and Whitfield – each connected from beyond the arc, giving Kinston the long-range threat that Jacksonville simply couldn’t match.

Kinston came out firing in the opening quarter, dropping 14 points – including a sharp 7-of-8 from the free-throw line – to take an early 14-6 lead. Jacksonville stayed within striking distance by living at the charity stripe early, converting 6-of-8 free throws in the first and another 5-of-10 in the second, but managed just 9 total field points in the first half.

The Vikings carried a 24-15 advantage into the locker room and then blew the game open in the third quarter with a 21-point explosion that pushed the lead to 45-28 heading into the final period. Kinston kept its foot on the gas in the fourth, adding 18 more points (6-of-13 FT) while holding the Cardinals to just 11.

Jacksonville’s offense struggled mightily from the field all night. Destiny Brenton led the Cardinals with 9 points, but the visitors shot a combined 10-of-28 from the free-throw line (35.7%) and were never able to find a consistent rhythm against Kinston’s pressure.

Quarter-by-Quarter Scoring
1Q: Kinston 14 – Jacksonville 6
2Q: Kinston 10 – Jacksonville 9
3Q: Kinston 21 – Jacksonville 13
4Q: Kinston 18 – Jacksonville 11
Final: Kinston 63 – Jacksonville 39

The victory improves Kinston to 1-0 on the young season and provides a major confidence boost for a program that posted a stellar 21-4 record a year ago. Ending the drought against the bigger school, Jacksonville, sets the tone for what the Vikings hope will be another deep postseason run.