The right call

It was last spring when Fayetteville girls basketball Coach Vic Rimmer grappled with the idea of moving an eighth-grader to the varsity level. It was then that Rimmer evaluated Sasha Goforth in pickup games against varsity players to "double-check her skill level," against stiffer competition. "That part was no question," Rimmer said. "Our only question was her being able to handle playing at our level for a full season, not just physically, but mentally ... was she mature enough?" Rimmer and his staff then decided the 6-1 shooting guard could be eased into the Lady Bulldogs' varsity program as a freshman. The move paid off for as Goforth led the Lady Bulldogs to the Class 7A state championship and was named the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's All-Arkansas Preps Newcomer of the Year. "We didn't start her right away on purpose," Rimmer said. "We had so many talented seniors that we felt like we could bring her along gradually if we needed to, but she picked it up very, very quickly." Rimmer remembers the exact moment when the decision to move Goforth up was affirmed. It was after the second game of the season, a 63-59 loss against Little Rock Central. "I saw that look in her eyes," Rimmer said. "We had just gotten beat, and you could see that she changed her mode to, 'I want to do this,' and 'I know I can do this,' ... and she rolled right into that role of playing to win, so it was a good thing from the beginning." Goforth led the Lady Bulldogs with 13.1 points per game during the regular season which included a 14-0 mark in the 7A-West Conference. "I remember my first start," she said. "Coach didn't tell me before the game or anything. He just started telling me who I was going to be matched up with right before the game. I was just really, really nervous, but it was great." After losing in last year's quarterfinals, Goforth was the only major component added to this year's Class 7A state championship team that finished 30-2. During this year's state tournament, Goforth averaged 16.3 points in three games. She was named the tournament's most valuable player after scoring 19 points to go along with 5 steals, 4 assists and 3 rebounds in the championship game over North Little Rock. "Sasha will shoot lights out from outside, or she can drive in to score," said Fayetteville junior post Jasmine Franklin. "She's not afraid of any competition. Even if she is nervous -- which she shouldn't be because she's just that good -- she still proves that she's not scared because she can and will score on anyone."

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Fayetteville High School Athletics

THE RIGHT CALL

MIKE CAPSHAW

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 3/26/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Andy Shupe