No flash needed

Fayetteville senior fine with letting others shine

Ashley Breathitt (right) of Fayetteville drives to the basket as Krista Clark of Bentonville defends Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, during the first half in Bulldog Arena. Visit nwadg.com/photos to see more photographs from the game.
Ashley Breathitt (right) of Fayetteville drives to the basket as Krista Clark of Bentonville defends Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, during the first half in Bulldog Arena. Visit nwadg.com/photos to see more photographs from the game.

FAYETTEVILLE -- In an era where social media serves as a sounding board for college prospects, Fayetteville senior Ashley Breathitt's humbleness is refreshing.

Twitter is where many prep stars hype their own recruitment with updates on scholarship offers and verbal commitments. Often, the latter requires much more than 140 characters, so prospects will take screen shots of long explanations about their decision.

At a Glance

Ashley Breathitt

SCHOOL Fayetteville

CLASS Senior

HEIGHT 5-8

POSITION Guard

NOTABLE Breathitt leads the team in prayer in the locker room and on the court before games. She attends church at The Salvation Army of Northwest Arkansas and has volunteered during food drives and other programs that serve those in need around the holidays. At her high school, Breathitt is part of a group that gathers donations, such as clothing and shampoo, for students in need.

7A-West Conference Basketball Standings

Girls

Team^Conference^Overall

Fayetteville^12-0^25-2

Van Buren^11-1^20-4

Springdale^7-5^13-12

Rogers^7-5^15-10

Springdale Har-Ber^5-7^15-11

Bentonville^4-8^11-14

Bentonville West^2-10^4-20

Rogers Heritage^0-12^6-19

Friday’s Games

Bentonville West 42, Rogers Heritage 34.

Fayetteville 67, Springdale Har-Ber 44.

Van Buren 52, Springdale High 32.

Rogers High 58, Bentonville High 43.

Tuesday’s Games

Springdale High at Fayetteville, 6 p.m.

Van Buren at Springdale Har-Ber, 6 p.m.

Bentonville West at Rogers High, 6 p.m.

Rogers Heritage at Bentonville High, 6 p.m.

Boys

Team^Conference^Overall

Springdale Har-Ber^10-2^19-7

Bentonville^10-2^15-10

Van Buren^8-4^15-10

Rogers Heritage^7-5^15-10

Fayetteville^6-6^11-13

Bentonville West^4-8^11-14

Springdale^3-9^6-18

Rogers^0-12^7-18

Friday’s Games

Rogers Heritage 47, Bentonville West 46.

Fayetteville 71, Springdale Har-Ber 53.

Van Buren 47, Springdale High 34.

Rogers High 62, Bentonville High 31.

Today’s Games

Springdale High at Fayetteville, 7:30 p.m.

Van Buren at Springdale Har-Ber, 7:30 p.m.

Bentonville West at Rogers High, 7:30 p.m.

Rogers Heritage at Bentonville High, 7:30 p.m.

ON THE WEB

For more on this story, see the video at nwadg.com and arpreps.com.

But instead of bragging about herself, teammate Lauren Holmes was the first to break the news about Breathitt's commitment to Arkansas Tech last week.

"I'm just not really flashy like that," Breathitt said. "Nothing against people who do that, because I have a lot of friends that do it, but that's just not who I am. I would rather someone else say that instead of saying, 'Hey, look at me.'"

Breathitt became Fayetteville's fifth player from the senior class to make a college pledge. Holmes, Kylee Coulter, Maya Mayberry and Grayce Spangler have signed with Division-I programs. Two underclassmen, junior Jasmine Franklin and freshman Sasha Goforth, already report Division-I scholarship offers.

Surrounded by so many college-bound players makes it tough for a player like Breathitt to shine. She doesn't mind as long as Fayetteville keeps winning. She averages 5.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game and shoots 51 percent from the field for the Lady Bulldogs (25-2, 12-0 7A-West) heading into tonight's home game against Springdale High.

"Team chemistry is so important to me because if you don't have team chemistry, you're not going to win," Breathitt said. "If I'm not having a good game and have to go to the bench, then I'll cheer as hard as I can from the bench because, whatever it takes, I just want to win."

Fayetteville coach Vic Rimmer called Breathitt "the glue" of the team because of her mentality and ability to play all five positions. She can shoot from the perimeter, beat a defender off the dribble or post up in the paint. She also has a knack for delivering passes "right into the spot where they can catch-shoot," he said.

"You watch our team once, and she's not going to be the one you notice," Rimmer said. "But if you watch us four, five, six times, you'll notice her because she's the steady one. She's the one that always gets stuff done."

Holmes and Breathitt have been teammates since fourth grade and played summer ball together on the Arkansas Banshees AAU program. Holmes said it's been fun watching her friend "grow as an overall player," especially after Breathitt fractured her elbow while playing at Ramay Junior High.

"It's actually, in a weird way, helped her," Holmes said. "Because now she's ambidextrous and can dribble with both hands. She's really worked hard on shooting because before, when she was left-handed, her shot wasn't very good. When she broke her elbow, she turned right-handed, and now she can shoot really well."

The injury occurred on a fast break when Breathitt jumped to block a shot from a Bentonville player. Momentum carried her into a padded wall, and she fell to the ground. A teammate's mother, who was a physician's assistant, put the elbow back into place in the locker room.

A left-handed point guard before the injury, Breathitt now can dribble or shoot with either hand, which makes her even more attractive as a college prospect.

"I don't know if I would have gotten offers, but I've definitely benefited from it," Breathitt said. "I thought my basketball career was over, but it wasn't. I just had to keep going."

Sports on 02/21/2017

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