A Chapel Hill squad that has defeated its first seven opponents by an average of 47 points is the favorite in the Holiday in the Pines Girls’ Basketball Tournament that gets under way this evening at Pinecrest.

The deep and balanced Tigers (7-0) are fresh off a 55-16 win over Union Pines on Wednesday. They take on Richmond Senior (2-6) in the 6 p.m. opener. Pinecrest (5-4) and Hough (7-1) meet in the second game at 7:30 p.m.

The consolation and championship games follow at 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively, on Saturday. Richmond Senior defeated Pinecrest 41-30 for the championship the last time the tournament was held in 2010.

The Patriots cut a 20-point deficit at the end of the first quarter in half by the intermission at Durham Hillside on Wednesday before falling 63-46. Janea Williams scored 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked five shots in the losing cause. Front-court teammate Felicia Painter put together a double-double that included 11 points and a dozen boards.

First year coach Janie Hodges’ Patriots picked up an extra win as a result of Mount Zion’s forfeit of last Tuesday’s scheduled game.

Chapel Hill has five players that average between 8.9 and 10.0 points per game this season. Defensively the Tigers are averaging 23 steals per outing. The only loss suffered by Hough, a Charlotte-area school, was 63-54 to undefeated Myers Park. Richmond will be trying to put the stops on a six-game losing streak.

The Patriots are led by seniors Williams and Painter. The 6-foot-3 Williams is averaging 15.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. The 6-0 Painter checks in at 11.4 and 10.9 in the same categories.