Coach Kevin Popadines believes his Lejeune girls� basketball team can get better.
But while that�s a scary thought given the Devilpups remained undefeated on Friday night with a 74-35 win over Dixon, Popadines can pinpoint one area in particular where Lejeune still has room to improve.
The Devilpups (15-0, 5-0 Coastal Plains 1-A Conference) certainly turned the pressure on against the Bulldogs (8-11, 2-3). Lejeune forced 36 turnovers and limited Dixon to 25 percent shooting.
Earlier, Dixon defeated Lejeune 86-79 in the boys� game.
Senior Chatori Major was the main beneficiary of the defense by the Lejeune girls, finishing with 29 points on 13 of 20 shooting. Major scored on several transition layups created by turnovers and long rebounds. She scored on a layup after a steal with three seconds left in the first quarter to give the Devilpups a 12-4 lead before she scored 10 points in a second quarter that saw Dixon commit 13 turnovers.
�They (Devilpups) didn�t necessarily catch us off guard (by pressure defense),� Dixon coach Christel Caliguire said. �I had a starter and a sixth man not here tonight and sometimes that breaks up the dynamic of your game. They didn�t do anything I didn�t expect from them.
Sophomore Nikia Wallace, who ended with eight points for Lejeune, also provided good defense.
Major clearly hurt the Bulldogs with her drives to the basket, but she was also complemented by her teammates. Senior Chryssandra Tatum added 12 points and 12 rebounds while eight other Lejeune players scored at least two points.
Major, who entered averaging 22.3 points per game, is the focal point of the Devilpups. There�s no questioning that. However, Lejeune has showed it is not a one-player show.
And while Popadines is happy with his the Devilpups played Friday, he expects things to become more difficult during the second rotation of CPC play.
Starting with a game next Friday at Southwest, Lejeune has five consecutive road games to close the regular season before the conference tournament aboard Camp Lejeune.
Dixon 86, Lejeune 79: Dixon outscored Lejeune 26-5 in the third quarter en route to a win in a game featuring a pair of teams winless in the CPC.
The Bulldogs� victory overshadowed a 39-point effort from the Devilpups� Ryan Evans, who made 10 of his team�s 16 3-pointers. Dixon was led by Curtis Trexel�s 24 points.
Jaylen Mitchell added 20 points, Trent Marshburn had 15 points and 13 rebounds while Daniel Page added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Lejeune led 46-40 at halftime, but Dixon used a 20-0 run in the third quarter to pull away.
The Bulldogs (4-15, 1-4) built a 71-51 lead in the third quarter, but the Devilpups (1-17, 0-5) kept things interesting, thanks to Evans� good play and eight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Overall, Lejeune was 16 of 44 from behind the arc.
Chuckie Murdock scored 15 points and Dax Summut finished with 13 points, including four 3-pointers, for the Devilpups.
Lejeune made seven 3-pointers in the first half, but Dixon kept close thanks to Trexel�s 20 first-half points.
And the effort by Trexel and the Bulldogs was just too much for Evans to overcome. Still, Malott was pleased with Evans� play.
Parker 3, Price 3, Aquafredda 12, James 2, Davis 13, Warren 2. Totals� 12-48 6-14 35.
Major 29, A. Wallace 2, Tatum 12, Overton 6, N. Wallace 8, Wright 2, Lee 3, James 4, Spradlin 2, Thomas 4. Totals� 32-62 9-14 74.
3-Point Goals� D 5 (Davis 2, Parker, Price, Aquafredda), L 1 (Major). Rebounds� D 25 (Aquafredda 5, Warren 5), L 43 (Tatum 12, Major 9). RECORDS� D: 8-11, 2-3, at Southwest on Friday. L: 15-0, 5-0, at Jones Senior on Friday.
Mitchell 20, Sicknick 9, Trexel 24, Tillman 4, Page 14, Marshburn 15. Totals� 31-68 23-36 86.
Evans 39, Richardson 10, Ortega 2, Sammut 13, Murdock 15. Totals� 27-72 9-12 79.
3-Point Goals� D 1 (Trexel), L 16 (Evans 10, Sammut 4, Murdock 2). Rebounds� D 47 (Marshburn 13, Page 10, Mitchell 8), L 28 (Evans 7). RECORDS� D: 4-15, 1-4, at Southwest on Friday. L: 1-17, 0-5, at Jones Senior on Friday.