Little River – All in all, Heather Kearney’s first season as the girls basketball coach at North Myrtle Beach High School went pretty well.
Faced with an adjustment period for players and coach, the Lady Chiefs were able to win 18 games during the 2023-24 season. They won seven of 10 games in region 6-AAAA, good enough for third-place in the region standings. The team also qualified for the Lower State playoffs, posting a first-round win over Irmo before getting eliminated in a second-round loss to Bluffton.
Kearney, who came to North Myrtle Beach after an extended coaching career on the college level, says the importance of building on the positives and correcting the negatives cannot be understated.
“We definitely planted the seeds,” she said. “We learned how to play. We learned a lot about what we wanted the program to look like moving forward. We did some good things but as a coach, I know where we need to improve. We need to put in a lot of good work during the offseason.”
Aside from the expected skill development, Kearney is looking forward to her players learning more about the game and how to handle situations that occur in games.
“We have to improve our basketball IQ. We have to gain a better understanding of the game,” the coach said. “That’s normal for any team. A player can always learn more about the game through watching game film and seeing how they handle situations. Things like setting screens and coming off screens. Just having a better knowledge of how the game is played.
“Two things in basketball that can prevent success is layups and free throws. Those are two of the basic parts of the game that good teams do. We have to get stronger, more able to handle the physical aspects of the game. It’s a lot of stuff but we have time to improve on everything we do.”
One encouraging aspect for the future is the number of underclassmen that saw critical playing time. The roster is set to return three players who received all-region recognition this season.
Junior guard Faith Farmer was selected as the region offensive player of the year. Farmer averaged 17.5 points and 2.6 steals per game this season.
Freshman point guard Maddie Vereen showed great promise, averaging 11 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 steals per outing.
In the post, junior Neveah Washington averaged nearly eight points and hauled in 9.7 rebounds per game.
The lone senior to see significant playing time was forward Jaden Berger, but she was in and out of the lineup fighting injury all season.
Junior Kierra Olson and sophomore Sadie Olsen saw playing time that will benefit them next year. Sophomore Katlyn Powers also saw action in nearly every game.
“We should return a good nucleus with Faith and Maddie in the backcourt and Neveah in the post,” Kearney said. “We were able to get some younger players some good playing experience. Now is the next step. They need to put in a lot of work during the offseason to improve themselves as players. That’s a good three to start with. Now we have to get some other girls ready to play and contribute in bigger roles.”
Kearney has an optimistic outlook for next season, if the players will commit to improvements.
“I’m excited to see us take that next step,” she said.
The North Myrtle Beach boys team finished the season with a 15-11 overall record. They earned a spot in the AAAA playoffs but saw their season end with a loss to Lucy Beckham. The Chiefs suffered five losses this season by single digits, changing the overall complexion of the record.
In wrestling, three Chief grapplers from the boys team qualified for the AAAA state individual tournament in late February.
The top finisher from the team was Wyatt Wheeler, who took home a silver medal in the 132-pound weight class. Levi Wheeler was a qualifier in the 120-pound weight class while Michael Cavallini qualified at 150 pounds.
Grace Ortiz qualified for the girls state invitational open in the 135-pound weight class.
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