WENDELL - When Shakerrya Morrison and Tianna Knuckles each score in the double figures it's typically a sign the East Wake girls basketball team had a good night.

But the 23-point effort by Knuckles and 13-point effort by Morrison wasn't enough in Tuesday's game against Durham Hillside.

Ten Hornet players scored in the game - three players scoring in the double digits - as Hillside handed the Warriors their second loss of the season, 76-62.

"Hillside played harder, honestly," East Wake coach Toni Vick said.

"Their post players are pretty big and they have a lot of shooters, too. We needed to be more aggressive, and we have to learn how to be more aggressive and be ready for anything going forward."

The Hornets jumped out to a 16-11 lead after the first quarter and expanded the margin to 33-20 by the halfway mark.

Vick made it clear to her players during the break that effort was the difference in the first half, and she got a response from her team.

"We talked about making good passing decisions, rebounding the ball and stopping the ball on defense," Vick said. "We just came out and played hard. We got together in the third quarter and the girls hit more shots."

East Wake outscored the Hornets 28-21 in the third quarter - a period in which Knuckles scored 16 of her points - but Hillside regrouped to outscore the Warriors 21-14 in the fourth quarter.

Vick said Hillside's physical style of play was something her players weren't used to, but she's glad they had the experience.

"I know we aren't going to play anyone that aggressive the rest of the season," Vick said.

"It was good for us to see that this early in the season. With us being so young this was good. The pace of play is a lot faster than they're used to. It pushes them and forces them to step up."

Mylea McKenith and TyKyra Williams led the Lady Hornets with 12 points each, followed by Emeral Smith with 10, Justine Lyons, Morgan McGee and Jordyn Smith with 9 points each, Jamisha Lee with 7, Khara Herring with 4, and Imari McLean and Daesha Marshall with 2 points each.

Following Knuckles and Morrison, East Wake was led by Cierra Williams with 10 points, Shamara Richardson with 9, Shayla Tanner with 5 and Breanna Archibald with 2.