North Duplin’s Reece Outlaw looks for an open teammate after picking up her dribble while Voyager Academy’s Gabby Jeffers defends during first-period play Thursday evening. The Rebels rallied to defeat the Vikings, 59-51, in second-round action of the NC High School Athletic Association 1A girls’ basketball playoffs. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Addy Higginbotham, right, gets hammered by a Voyager Academy defender after a mid-court turnover Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Lily Brothus, 51, defends against Voyager Academy’s Jaden McCullough after a turnover. The Vikings called timeout to keep possession. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin head coach John Oliver watches from the bench during second-half play against Voyager Academy on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Adaisha Bernal, left, and Tateyawna Faison, right, tie up a Voyager Academy player to force a held-ball possession during their NC High School Athletic Association 1A playoff game in Calypso on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Addy Higginbotham keeps the ball away from a Voyager Academy defender as she looks for an open teammate Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Meghan Martin scrambled to get this loose ball in the corner and passes around Voyager Academy defender Chloe Crawford to an open teammate Thursday evening. Martin grabbed eight rebounds for the Rebels, who advanced to the NC High School Athletic Association east 1A quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin student section members pull the bow and shoot an arrow after Reece Outlaw buried a 3-pointer during second-half play against Voyager Academy on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
CALYPSO — When a team commits 18 turnovers and clanks 14 free throws off the iron, all in the first half, then it’s almost assured to experience a loss.
North Duplin avoided that misfortune Thursday evening.
The Rebels responded with a “better” second-half performance and upended Voyager Academy, 59-51, in round two of the NC High School Athletic Association 1A girls’ basketball playoffs.
Seeded fourth in the East bracket, North Duplin (22-1 overall) entertains fifth-seeded Perquimans County (23-2) on Saturday. Tip-off is 3 p.m.
“I think we got a little bit over confident, got stressed out … worked up and needed to slow our game down a little bit,” Rebels guard Reece Outlaw said. “We were not being the team we knew we could be. At halftime, we came to that realization that we had to change that and change it fast.”
Outlaw had to watch from the bench.
The junior picked up two quick fouls early in the third quarter, which put the ball-handling responsibility squarely on Addy Higginbotham’s shoulders. Voyager hounded the sophomore guard in either a 1-3- 1 zone press, man-to-man press or triangle-and-two when Outlaw was on the court.
Hardly resembling the team that shellacked Oxford Prep on Tuesday, North Duplin continued to rush its offense and make poor decisions against the Vikings’ defensive pressure.
The teams traded one-point leads on four occasions before Voyager moved in front 34-31.
Somehow, North Duplin forged ahead 46-42 as the third period expired.
“They were picking [off] a lot of passes that we haven’t had to worry about recently,” Outlaw acknowledged. “We were making dumb passes and they were feeding off that energy that we were giving them.”
The Rebels opened the final period on an 8-2 run.
Tateyawna Faison’s layup off a Higginbotham assist gave the Rebels their first double-digit advantage, 54-44, with just over three minutes remaining in regulation. Outlaw’s basket off a loose-ball rebound and Higginbotham’s two free throws extended their advantage to 59-46 with 2:11 to go.
Voyager closed to within 59-51, but couldn’t keep the momentum.
“No, we weren’t focused,” ND head coach John Oliver said. “I tried to warn them before we came out that you cannot underestimate this team. You’ve got to go out with the attitude they’re the best team in the state and you have to beat them.
“I thought our defense wasn’t as good as it has been. I really thought they had us in the first half, I really did. If there had been two more minutes on the clock, we would have been in trouble.”
North Duplin committed a season-high 32 turnovers. Oliver’s team shot 23 of 66 (34.8 percent) from the floor and a miserable 11 of 35 (31.4 percent) at the free throw line.
Faison logged a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds, before she fouled out in the final period. Outlaw contributed a double-double (23 points, 11 steals) to go along with six rebounds and two assists.
Higginbotham just missed a double-double with 11 points, nine assists, five rebounds and three steals. Meghan Martin provided four points and eight rebounds. Adaisha Bernal contributed four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
The Rebels extended their win streak to 15.
