North Duplin’s players and coaches celebrate after defeating Perquimans County, 61-54, in third-round play of the NC High School Athletic Association Class 1A girls’ basketball playoffs Saturday. The Rebels are in the eastern semifinals for the first time in more than three decades. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Perquimans guard Lailana Harris gets hemmed in on the baseline by North Duplin’s duo of Addy Higginbotham and Lily Brothus (31). (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin sophomore Tateyawna Faison gets fouled by Perquimans’ Krista Linton during their NC High School Athletic Association 1A girls’ basketball playoff game Saturday afternoon. Faison posted a double-double — 13 points, 13 rebounds — as the Rebels squeezed out a 61-54 win. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Lilly Fulghum looks for an open teammate on an inbounds pass play Saturday afternoon. Fulghum cleaned the glass for a season-high 11 rebounds. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Tateyawna Faison keeps control of the ball after pulling down a rebound against Perquimans. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Tateyawna Faison keeps control of the ball after pulling down a rebound against Perquimans. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Meghan Martin, 3, works to get rebound position against a Perquimans player during first-half action Saturday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
From left, North Duplin’s Tateyawna Faison, Kasey Jones, Reece Outlaw and Addy Higginbotham celebrate after the Rebels ousted Perquimans from the NC High School Athletic Association 1A girls’ basketball playoffs Saturday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin sophomore guard Addy Higginbotham scored seven points off free throws and missed all six field goal attempts against Perquimans on Saturday afternoon. More importantly, Higginbotham played the entire fourth quarter with four fouls. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin senior Adaisha Bernal, left, avoids the trap by a Perquimans player in front of the Rebels’ bench Saturday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
CALYPSO — Four teammates fouled out within an eight-minute span. One player flirted with four fouls. A never-comfortable lead dwindled to four points.
Could North Duplin hang on?
Lilly Fulghum converted a critical inbounds pass with 59 seconds remaining and the Rebels escaped Perquimans County, 61-54, in round three of the NC High School Athletic Association 1A girls’ basketball playoffs Saturday afternoon.
North Duplin (24-1 overall) travels to top-seeded Falls Lake Academy for an eastern semifinal-round clash Tuesday. Tip-off is 7 p.m.
“Oh, that was stressful,” Rebels guard Addy Higginbotham said. “We just had to stay calm and composed. I think we handled it well. Every single second we had to learn how to handle the game and process the game.”
The final 64 seconds were the most tense.
Up 55-51, the Rebels perfectly executed an inbounds pass pulled from the pages of a dusty playbook stored inside head coach John Oliver’s brain. The tactic shocked the Pirates, who watched as Fulghum drained an uncontested layup off a screen by Eva Quintanilla.
“We practiced that three times on Friday,” a smiling Oliver said.
The teams traded turnovers before Quintanilla got hammered on a defensive rebound. The sophomore drained both free throws and all but sealed the Rebels’ first eastern semifinal appearance in more than three decades.
North Duplin led 50-37 after three quarters.
One minute into the fourth, Tateyawna Faison collected her fifth foul. She joined Reece Outlaw, who fouled out with two minutes left in the third, on the bench.
Perquimans capitalized and closed the gap to 53-46.
Lily Brothus and Meghan Martin each picked up their respective fifth foul 37 seconds apart. That left Higginbotham (four fouls), Fulghum, Quintanilla, senior Adaisha Bernal and Kasey Jones on the court.
A turnover allowed the Pirates to climb within 55-51.
Fulghum answered with her biggest basket of the season.
“I was worried when Reece picked up her fifth foul,” Oliver said. “I didn’t know if the team would stay together. They proved me wrong. I’m very proud of the girls who came in and played with the heart that they have.”
Outlaw tallied 21 points, including 12 from behind the arc, in the opening half. Her outside accuracy enabled the Rebels to erase an early deficit and enter halftime with an 11-point lead.
The fifth-seeded Pirates (23-3) opened the second half with a 3-pointer.
Bernal quickly stole back the momentum with a 3-pointer off Higginbotham’s assist. Brothus added a four-point play later in the third that pushed the advantage to double digits.
“I think we all knew we were better than what we were providing for the team at the moment,” Higginbotham said of the slow offensive start. “I think we all had it in our mind that this game is not going to be handed to us, we have to work for it.
“We did.”
Higginbotham knocked down seven free throws and missed all six of her field goal attempts. Faison contributed a double-double — 13 points and 13 rebounds. Fulghum scored five points and pulled down a season-best 11 rebounds.
Brothus contributed 10 points, four assists and four steals.
The teams combined for 53 fouls, 81 free throw attempts and six players fouled out overall.
