PEMBROKE — After Natalie Evington signed to play basketball on Jan. 9, the community got to show the Purnell Swett senior guard their love and support Thursday at a ceremonial signing.

They’ll get to continue showing support for the next four years, too, as Evington will play collegiality at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

“It just makes it even more special, the love that has come out to support me. It’s amazing,” Evington said. “It’s just a blessing to be able to play at the next level, and especially it be here in my hometown.”

Evington will become the first player from a Robeson County high school to play for the UNCP women’s basketball team in recent years.

“She can really shoot the ball, that and the fact that she plays really hard,” UNCP coach John Haskins said. “On top of that, great student, great kid; there’s a lot of attractive things. And I don’t think you can have too many people on the floor that can shoot the ball.”

“Her family is super-supportive; she’s got a large family, and just because of who she is and how she operates, everybody wants to be a part of what she’s got going on,” Purnell Swett coach Kalen Eddings said. “I think it’s going to be great for the town; I think it’s going to be great for young Lumbee girls that maybe have thought that playing at UNCP was out of reach, and it’s kind of cool to be able to have somebody local that they can see and who they’ve watched grow and they’ve watched work.”

Evington, a 5-foot-6 shooting guard, is averaging 19.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 steals in her senior season at Purnell Swett entering play Friday; she surpassed 1,000 career points earlier this season and is the Rams’ all-time leading 3-point shooter. She has been a major contributor in two consecutive Robeson County Shootout championships, as well as the 2022 United-8 Conference regular-season and tournament championships.

“They’re getting a heck of a basketball player, and more than anything just a great person,” Eddings said. “She’s no drama, she just wants to win, she wants to be the best, she wants to do what you say. … She’s everything you could ask for her.”

Evington joins her father, Brian Evington, as a UNCP athlete after Brian played baseball for the Braves.

“Having a dream is one thing, but actually getting to live it is something else,” Natalie Evington said.

Evington also had offers from Meredith and William Peace, along with Division-I interest from USC Upstate, Charleston, Charleston Southern and Presbyterian, among others. In addition to basketball, Evington has played tennis in high school; she teamed up with Nyla Mitchell to win the United-8 Conference’s 4A doubles championship in October.