Bulldogs phenom carried heavy load

Sasha Goforth faced the dreaded sophomore jinx this season after she helped lead Fayetteville to the Class 7A state championship as a freshman. But she eluded the jinx as easily as she did defenders in last year's championship game when she was named the Most Valuable Player after scoring 19 points in a 59-49 victory over North Little Rock. Fayetteville returned only two starters this season but the Lady Bulldogs finished 22-4 overall and won the 7A-West Conference again with a 14-0 record. Goforth, a 6-foot-1 guard, was a top defender and leading scorer who averaged 16.8 points per game. For her efforts, Goforth is the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps girls Sophomore Player of the Year. "I had to step up because we lost so many seniors from last year," said Goforth, who has over 25 scholarship offers from NCAA Division I schools with two years left to play and was the All-Arkansas Preps Newcomer of the Year as a freshman. "I think I did pretty good, especially in playing more of a leadership role. I'm a pretty good talker on the court, so that wasn't too hard for me." Goforth is aggressive on drives to the basket and she also made 40 percent of her three-point attempts. She finished with 28 points in a victory at Rogers after she made four consecutive three-pointers and scored 16 points in the first quarter. She was again the star on senior night at Fayetteville when she scored 26 points in a victory over Van Buren. But for all of her offensive skills Goforth was also a determined defender in the backcourt for Fayetteville, which was eliminated in the state tournament by Little Rock Central. "Sasha was always assigned the opponent's best player," Fayetteville Coach Vic Rimmer said. "She is a committed defender and gave max effort on that end. Her long wing span and knack to not foul made her invaluable, defensively Sasha is a tireless worker and the most competitive players in our program." Goforth will play for the Cy-Fair Nike Elite team near Houston before returning to Fayetteville for her junior year in high school.

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Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette | 4/1/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Andy Shupe