HAMILTON — With the talented young players the Hamilton High West and Nottingham High varsity girls basketball teams have been putting on the floor this season, the future looks better for these two Colonial Valley Conference rivals. When they met during the 2025-26 regular season Saturday at the Galaxy, freshmen dominated the contributors on both sides, keeping the game tight throughout until the Hornets held on for a 32-27 victory. That snapped a 12-game losing streak for head coach Rob Farina’s 4-14 squad. It was a blip on the radar for head coach Kyle James’ 4-15 club, which has been playing better of late (winning three of its last seven). “We did a lot better getting out on the fastbreak and playing tough defense today,” Hamilton West’s 5-foot-10 freshman forward Hailey King said. “Our passing was good, and we were looking for backdoors more often.” King helped out with one of her better all-around games, scoring six points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Like just about everyone in the game, King still has parts of her game that she would like to improve, but those will come as she gets more acclimated with the high school game and her own growth spurts. “Today I felt aggressive,” said King, who’s worked through ankle and knee injuries. “I need to keep my balance more. We just need to come out more motivated.” The Hornets did that yesterday, but so did the Northstars, tying the game six times in the first half before 5-4 junior guard Jurieliz “Juju” Vargas Gutierrez gave the visitors the lead to stay with a 3-point field goal off a steal by 5-5 freshman guard Adisin Smith 4.4 seconds before intermission. “Our defense has gotten a lot better,” Nottingham’s 5-8 freshman forward Jada Mason said. “We have to work on getting our offense going and not fouling.” Mason was happy to supply four points, nine rebounds and six steals to keep the home side in the thick of things down to the end. When Hamilton West’s lone senior, 5-10 forward Kimani Harlan fouled out with 1:42 left after scoring six points with 16 rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots, Northstars’ 5-4 freshman guard Olivia Elnaggar hit a pair of free throws to draw her team as close as 29-27. But Adisin Smith (eight points) converted a driving layup and her twin sister, Aislin, hit 1-of-2 foul shots in the final 21 seconds to give the Hornets their first win in a month. HAMILTON WEST (32) Harlan 3-0-6, Vargas Gutierrez 2-0-6, Castro Gamboa 1-1-3, Onorati 0-0-0, King 3-0-6, AdSmith 3-2-8, AiSmith 1-1-3. Totals — 13-4-32. NOTTINGHAM (27) Jacobs 2-1-5, Kieffer 0-0-0, TSmith 3-0-6, Spotwood 3-0-6, McDonald 1-0-2, Mason 2-0-4, Elnaggar 1-2-4. Totals — 12-3-27. HamiltonWest(4-14)                    8    10    8    6    —    32 Nottingham (4-15)                       8      7    8    4    —    27 3-point goals — Vargas Gutierrez 2 (HW). ...read more read less