Dominant from the start, Hopewell rolled past rival North Meck 54-41 and, assisted by Hough's one-point loss at Mallard Creek, captured its third straight I-Meck Conference title in girls' basketball.
Hopewell and Hough entered Thursday's regular season finales tied for first, but Mallard Creek pulled even with Hough for second in the standings — at 11-3 — with a 53-52 win over the Huskies.
That left Hopewell as the league's No. 1 seed once again, even if the route to a championship was different than that of the past two years.
"This was, by far, the toughest," said Hopewell coach Gary Richmond. "It ain't even close."
The Titans (16-7 overall, 12-2 I-Meck) had, in the past two seasons, relied on a group of established players, led by Davidson College freshman Hannah Early, that led Hopewell to the regionals for the first time last season. This year, though, there were bumps in the road early and often.
Wing players Shareé Boyd and Bryanna Curry and post player Tiera Burks all returned with starting experience, but Curry has been under the weather off and on since the holidays and Burks has been slowed by achy knees.
Newcomer Qua Lynch, who was emerging as the team's top defender, tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while playing at a holiday tournament and was lost for the season.
At times, the Titans have had five guards on the court, with the tallest of them, Boyd, guarding in the post.
Hopewell was tied with Hough at the top of the conference entering their game Jan. 24, but Hough's 39-31 win, its first-ever against the Titans, dropped Hopewell in the standings.
"When we lost at Hough," said Richmond, "it was the first time we'd been outside first place in two-and-a-half years. But we regrouped, and the kids didn't give up."
Hopewell defeated Mallard Creek 47-39 on Feb. 3 to stay in the mix for the league title, getting past a team that has been the thorn in the Titans' side the past few seasons.
"Last week's win over Mallard Creek was the big one," said Richmond. "They're not faster than us any more. They're not faster. They're not bigger."
Thursday, Bria Washington hit a three-pointer 40 seconds into the game, Hopewell pulled ahead 19-4 and never trailed, with its lead peaking at 17 in the fourth quarter. North cut the deficit to five twice in the third quarter, but a 7-0 Titan run to end the period pushed the lead to 41-29.
Boyd led all scorers with 16, while Curry added 11. Kelly Beasley scored 12 to lead North, which fell to 13-11 overall and 6-8 in the I-Meck, finishing fifth.
The girls' conference tournament begins Tuesday at Mallard Creek.
After splitting the regular season title with Lake Norman and Mallard Creek in 2010, Hopewell won the I-Meck tournament 56-49 over Lake Norman. Last year, Hopewell won the regular season outright, then lost 43-30 to Mallard Creek in the tournament final.
