North Duplin’s Addy Higginbotham takes a shot over Neuse Charter defender Nivea Winston, middle, while teammate Lilly Fulghum looks on during second-half action Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Neuse Charter’s Chloe Kozloff, behind, gets a hand on a shot attempt by North Duplin senior Reece Outlaw. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Lilly Fulghum converts a first-quarter basket as Neuse Charter point guard Cayley Cochran trails the play. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Tateyawna Faison knocks down a second-half basket in front of Neuse Charter defender Layla Johnson. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
CALYPSO — Turnovers have bothered North Duplin all season.
Head girls’ basketball coach John Oliver found a solution.
During recent practices, he’s placed basketballs in different locations on the hardwood and challenged his players to pick them up and dribble without committing a turnover.
The strategy worked Friday evening.
The Rebels committed a season-low 12 miscues during their 60-38 romp over Carolina 1A rival Neuse Charter. They remained in contention for their third consecutive regular-season championship with four games left on the docket.
“The drill … told them you can’t run until you look to see where you’re throwing the ball,” Oliver said. “Tonight, the first they did when they got the ball was they looked up. We’re maturing, growing on how to take care of the basketball.”
North Duplin’s defense wasn’t bad, either.
Frontcourt mates Meghan Martin and Tateyawna Faison dominated underneath the basket. Faison swatted away six shots and pulled down a season-high 15 rebounds. Martin collected seven boards and blocked three shots.
The Rebels recorded 17 steals, including eight by Addy Higginbotham and five by Reece Outlaw.
“Our defense was in force for us tonight,” Oliver said. “When we stopped them and got the ball, we scored.”
Neuse Charter grabbed an early lead.
It didn’t last long.
Higginbotham’s 3-pointer, one of six on the night, sparked a 25-11 run that turned a precarious one-point lead into a 15-point cushion by halftime. The junior point guard compensated for Outlaw, who was heavily guarded in a box-and-one scheme.
“People don’t understand that Addy can shoot the ball just as good as Reece can,” a grinning Oliver said. “That just just opened the door for Addy and other girls who can shoot. Lilly [Fulghum], if you leave her open, she’s going to shoot it.”
Outlaw finished with 10 points, followed by Faison with nine and Fulghum with eight. Martin added four points for the Rebels, who improved to 30-2 against Carolina opposition in regular-season and tournament play since 2022.
North Duplin (12-6 overall, 5-1 Carolina) returns home Tuesday to face nemesis Lakewood, which pulled off a two-point upset in Salemburg less than three weeks ago.
Oliver’s team, Lakewood and Union entered Friday’s games tied atop the conference standings. Their second-half, head-to-head matchups will eventually determine the league’s automatic qualifier to the NC High School Athletic Association playoffs.
