Basketball: Goforth's 19 sparks rout of Hillcrest, Mo.

Fayetteville's Coriah Beck (center) goes up for a layup Thursday as Hillcrest's Reagan Jamison (left), Andrea Bailey (15) and Madison Schaefferkotter defend during the Fayetteville Bulldog Classic at Bulldog Arena in Fayetteville. Visit nwadg.com/photos for more photos from the game.
Fayetteville's Coriah Beck (center) goes up for a layup Thursday as Hillcrest's Reagan Jamison (left), Andrea Bailey (15) and Madison Schaefferkotter defend during the Fayetteville Bulldog Classic at Bulldog Arena in Fayetteville. Visit nwadg.com/photos for more photos from the game.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Sasha Goforth had been battling the flu, and was essentially running on a half-day of practice this week entering the Bulldog Classic Thursday at Fayetteville. But you wouldn't have known it.

The star sophomore scored a game-high 19 points on an efficient 8 of 12 from the floor, guiding Fayetteville to a 61-21 rout of Springfield (Mo.) Hillcrest in Bulldog Arena. The Lady Purple'Dogs outmatched Hillcrest at every position, and carried a 35-14 lead into halftime.

Bulldog Classic

Girls

Fayetteville 61, Hillcrest, Mo. 21

Hillcrest^6^8^3^4^–^21

Fayetteville^17^18^22^4^–^61

Hillcrest: Tan 9, Hale 3, Maina 3, Schaefferkotter 2, Conlon 2, Shetto 1, Jamison 1.

Fayetteville (3-0): Goforth 19, Franklin 11, Unruh 6, Beck 4, Templeton 4, Webb 3, Bailey 3, Terminella 3, Hall 3, Logan 2, Bobbitt 2, Atienza 1.

Thursday’s scores

Girls

Jonesboro 71, Sapulpa, Okla. 48

North Little Rock 45, Mountain Home 32

Fayetteville 61, Hillcrest, Mo. 21

LIttle Rock Central 58, Greenwood 54

Boys

Conway 65, Hot Springs 43

Lee’s Summit West, Mo. 55 , Springdale 44

North Little Rock 71, Harrison 56

Jacksonville 60, Fayetteville 59

Friday’s games

4 p.m. — Jonesboro girls vs. North Little Rock (Arena)

4 p.m. — Springdale boys vs. Hot Springs (Aux)

5:30 p.m. — Sapulpa, Okla. girls vs. Mountain Home (Aux)

5:30 p.m. — Conway boys vs. Lee’s Summit West, Mo. (Arena)

7 p.m. — Fayetteville girls vs. Little Rock Central (Arena)

7 p.m. — Fayetteville boys vs. Harrison (Aux)

8:30 p.m. — Hillcrest, Mo. vs. Greenwood (Aux)

8:30 p.m. — Jacksonville boys vs. North Little Rock (Arena)

But Goforth's play to open the third put the sportsmanship rule into effect. She scored 11 of her 19 in the opening three minutes, 48 seconds of the second half and sat the rest of the way in preparation of tonight's matchup with Little Rock Central.

"She has that ability," Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer said. "The thing about her is we rely on her so heavily defensively, and that's the part tomorrow that may be the biggest chore for her.

"She shot the ball well tonight, though. She was tired, and I'm a little concerned about that (Friday) for her because she's going to have to play a lot of minutes."

None of Fayetteville's big three -- Goforth, Jasmine Franklin, Coriah Beck -- played more than 13 minutes in the win. The trio still combined for 34 points, but Rimmer got a lift from his bench as well as his second and third units contributed 22 points, 15 coming in the first half.

"That second group executed really well," Rimmer said. "They took good shots, and they're regular as far as what they do. They do a good job of just coming in and being consistent."

Outside of Rimmer's top three scorers, the rest of the roster had scored just 18 points in Fayetteville's first two wins of the season. Thursday, 12 players scored, and reserves played a role in Fayetteville's 30 points off 20 Hillcrest turnovers and the Lady Hornets' poor shooting -- 16.7 percent.

"Obviously our starting five is going to get tired, so it's important our bench can contribute," Goforth said. "That was kind of a worry this year if we were going to have more than five."

Franklin added 11 points on 5 of 9 shooting, six rebounds and five steals in the win, her second consecutive game with six-plus rebounds and five or more steals. Audra Unruh followed with six points in just more than 11 minutes of action. Kelly Tan led Hillcrest with nine points.

Fayetteville and Little Rock Central are scheduled to tip at 7 p.m in Bulldog Arena.

Boys

Lee's Summit West, Mo. 55, Springdale High 44

The Red'Dogs had little answer for a Lee's Summit frontcourt of 6-11 Yor Anei and 6-8 Christian Bishop in the first round of the Bulldog Classic. Bishop finished with a game-high 16 points and 23 rebounds, 11 on the offensive glass, in leading Lee's Summit to a 5:30 winner's bracket meeting with Conway.

Anei scored just seven points and grabbed five rebounds in 20 minutes before fouling out, but finished with eight of the Titans' 11 blocked shots. Carl Fitch led the way for Springdale with a double-double of his own -- 13 points, 12 rebounds. Springdale faces Hot Springs today at 4 p.m.

Jacksonville 60, Fayetteville 59

Titans guard Caleb Kendrick's deep 3-pointer with less than a minute to play Thursday served as the eventual game-winner, sending Jacksonville into tonight's winner's bracket against North Little Rock at 8:30 p.m.

Kendrick finished with just eight points, but connected on both 3-point attempts in the win. Braylon Hawkins and Joseph Phillips each scored 15 for the Titans. Fayetteville's Collin Cooper scored a game-high 16 points, all in the first half.

Frank Morgan added 13 points on 3 of 5 from beyond the arc and RJ Johnson pitched in 11. As a team, Fayetteville was 12 of 26 from three, knocking down six in each half. The Purple'Dogs face Harrison tonight at 7 p.m.

Sports on 12/08/2017

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