AL to NC to 2K: Chargers’ Porter makes school history, scores 2,000th point in win over Panther Creek

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PITTSBORO — Entering last Wednesday’s game against Panther Creek, Northwood senior Olivia Porter needed just 12 points to hit a milestone that nobody’s ever reached in Pittsboro: 2,000 career points on the court.

It didn’t take long.

With less than six minutes remaining in the second quarter, Porter drained back-to-back 3-pointers that not only put her directly at the milestone — 2,000 points on the dot — but also gave the Chargers a 20-15 lead over one of the best teams in the 4A classification.

The Chargers went on to defeat the Catamounts, 59-47, behind 24 points from Porter, the team’s leading scorer this season averaging 19.8 points per game in her first season in a Northwood uniform.

She’s been tremendous for the Chargers in the season following a state semifinal exit, leading them to a 14-1 record and a first-place position in the Central 3A conference (4-0) up to this point.

“She just brings that energy, whether it’s on defense or whether it’s on offense,” Kerri Snipes, Northwood’s first-year head coach, told the News + Record last month. “She’s very composed with the ball, she’s a very heads-up player. … She’s been a great help for us. Definitely just a leader, vocally and by her abilities on the floor.”

Porter is a senior transfer from Auburn, Alabama, where she led the Auburn High Tigers to the Class 7A state semifinals twice over the last three seasons.

She’s played varsity basketball since she was in eighth grade, scoring a total of 1,747 points while with the Tigers.

Last January, her father, Larry Porter — former position coach for the football team at Auburn University — accepted a job under UNC head football coach Mack Brown to become the team’s running backs coach for the second time (his first stint was from 2014-16), as well as the Tar Heels’ assistant special teams coordinator, which influenced Porter’s decision to transfer to Northwood for her senior year.

But with this being the second time the Porter family has spent time in the Triangle, Porter said her hitting the 2,000-point mark alongside some of her old friends made it even more special.

“It means everything to have this accomplishment with my friends,” Porter told Kyle Morton of HighSchoolOT after the game. “I used to live here previously, so just to have this accomplishment and do it with them means everything. It was a great day today.”

With 6:45 to go in the third quarter, Porter went to the line to shoot a pair of free throws.

She knocked down the first one, but as she readied herself to shoot another, a timeout was called.

Northwood’s athletic director Cameron Vernon stepped onto the floor holding a microphone, calling Porter to midcourt for a photo opportunity.

Out came her parents, Larry and Sharmane, along with a bouquet of flowers and balloons that wrote out the number 2,000. They smiled as they stood on the Chargers’ logo.

Northwood was determined to honor her, even if it came in the middle of a trip to the charity stripe.

“I was a little confused — and then I missed the free throw after that,” Porter said with a laugh. “But it was cool, I guess.”

Reporter Victor Hensley can be reached at vhensley@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @Frezeal33.