North Duplin seniors Adaisha Bernal, left, and Kasey Jones, right, hold the Carolina 1A regular-season and tournament championship trophies. The Rebels defeated Union, 55-43, in Newton Grove on Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Meghan Martin pulls down a rebound against Union defender KiHanna Murphy during first-half action of their Carolina 1A tournament final Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Reece Outlaw gets fouled by Union guard Ariyona Spearman during first-period play Friday evening. Outlaw made both free throws. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Meghan Martin attempts a shot as Union’s Ariyona Spearman defends on the play. Spearman locked arms with Martin, but no foul was called on the play. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Reece Outlaw goes in for the layup, but gets her shot blocked from behind by a Union defender on Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin senior Kasey Jones eyes the basket as she makes the first of two free throws during opening-period play against Union on Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Meghan Martin, behind, and Addy Higginbotham knock the ball away from Union’s KiHonna Murphy. The Rebels kept possession and scored on the next play. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin guard Addy Higginbotham goes up for the shot against Union defenders Katelyn Chestnutt, left, and KiHonna Murphy. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin assistant coach Sandy McCarty hugs Addy Higginbotham and Reece Outlaw after the Rebels won their second consecutive Carolina 1A Conference tournament championship in Newton Grove on Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin assistant coach Sandy McCarty watches the final seconds tick away as the Rebels pull off a come-from-behind, 55-43 win over Union on Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Union guard Ariyona Spearman tries to work her way past North Duplin’s Lily Brothus (51) and Reece Outlaw during third-period play Friday evening. The Rebels turned back the Spartans, 55-43, and claimed their second consecutive Carolina 1A tournament championship. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Addy Higginbotham defends against Union’s Ariyona Spearman as she pushes the ball upcourt during third-period play Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin guard Addy Higginbotham drives into the lane against Union’s Ahleeyah Richardson as the third period winds down Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Addy Higginbotham gets fouled by Union’s KiHonna Murphy on her way to the basket Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
NEWTON GROVE — North Duplin seniors Adaisha Bernal and Kasey Jones beamed proudly as they held the Carolina 1A regular-season and tournament trophies at midcourt Friday evening.
Parents pulled out their cell phones and snapped pictures to freeze the historic and memorable moment in time.
The Rebels had completed the “double.”
However, they had to work for it.
Facing Union for the fourth time this season, North Duplin twice rallied from opening-half deficits and claimed the crown with a 55-43 victory at Hobbton High School.
Bernal exhaled a huge sigh of relief.
“I’m feeling wonderful, great … not a lot of words right now,” she said.
The third-seeded Spartans capped the opening quarter with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer and led 14-12. The Rebels hadn’t faced a first-quarter deficit since a mid-December loss to Eastern Wayne.
Union kept the lead until midway through the second quarter.
Sandy McCarty, acting as head coach in the absence of John Oliver, burned a quick timeout. She used the break to settle the team’s nerves and elected to pressure the ball.
The tactic worked.
Reece Outlaw stole the ball from Union guard Ariyona Spearman and threw it upcourt to Addy Higginbotham. The sophomore guard easily connected on the layup.
The miscue helped spark a 12-5 run that pushed North Duplin ahead, 28-26, at halftime.
“They know everything about you, you know everything about them and it’s tough,” McCarty said of the upset-minded Spartans. “It’s tough to set a defense and offense different than what they’ve seen before … strategically, it’s hard. The first half, we didn’t have the energy we needed.
“We can’t let our emotions take over. We have to be stronger than our emotions, play our game [and] have fun.”
North Duplin reeled off a 10-3 run after the break.
Outlaw, Higginbotham, Bernal and Tateyawna Faison spearheaded the offensive surge that nearly disappeared. Unforced turnovers fueled the Spartans’ rally as Spearman and Hailey King began their respective heat checks behind the 3-point arc.
The duo helped pulled the Spartans to within 38-36.
Higginbotham drained two free throws after getting fouled on an offensive stickback attempt. Outlaw pulled down a rebound and drove to the basket for a layup. Faison picked up a loose ball after Higginbotham got tripped up at midcourt, fired a pass to Outlaw and the junior guard kissed a shot off the glass.
The Rebels led 44-36.
“I know I was nervous. We had to get comfortable, find our rhythm and play our game,” Higginbotham said. “It was definitely a head-to-head game … a championship game and we had to work for it.”
Faison’s offensive putback gave North Duplin its biggest advantage, 49-38, with just over five minutes left in regulation. Unlike the previous three quarters, the Spartans could never whittle away at the Rebels’ lead.
North Duplin (20-1 overall) extended its win streak to eight over Union and 23 against Carolina 1A opposition since mid-January of 2022. Outlaw finished with 23 points, while Higginbotham chimed in with 14.
Faison matched her career high of 18 rebounds and knocked down 11 points. Lily Brothus provided five points and three rebounds. Jones shot 2 of 2 at the free throw line.
Bernal and Meghan Martin combined for eight rebounds.
“It’s a big win for us,” McCarty said. “Our girls have worked all year. They work well together. They believe in themselves and we believe in them. This game was huge, especially moving forward into the states [playoffs] next week.”
Spearman tallied 28 points for the Spartans, who sought their first tournament title since the Bradley Bass and Julie Hunter eras in southern Sampson County. Their well-coached teams ruled the Tri County 1A-2A and Super Six 1A conferences for more than a decade.
