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Sunday, November 5, 2017 29 2017 Northwest Arkansas Basketball Girls basketball coaches in the 7A-West Conference sound like an ep- isode of The Brady Bunch — with a twist — when talking about the league's strengths this season. "Sasha, Sasha, Sasha." Who can blame them. Defending state champ Fayetteville is again load- ed with talent led by Sasha Goforth, a sophomore guard with size, agility and shooting ability. The 6-foot-1 guard is arguably the second-best player in the state behind Central Arkansas Chris- tian's Christyn Williams, the nation's No. 1 prospect in the senior class. Goforth reports 25 scholarship offers from a who's who of Division-I college programs. As a freshman, Goforth was named All-NWADG Newcomer of the Year and state finals Most Valuable Play- er after scoring a game-high 19 points on 8 of 14 shooting (3 of 5 from 3-point range) to go along with 5 steals, 4 assists and no turnovers in a 59-49 win over North Little Rock. Also back for the Lady Purple'Dogs, who finished with 22 straight wins and a 30-2 record, is 6-2 senior forward Jas- mine Franklin, a Missouri State pledge who averaged a double-double last sea- son and shot an incredible 85 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter to help Fayetteville put opponents away. Sophomore guard Coriah Beck has yet to play a varsity game, but many coaches in the league say the daughter of former Razorbacks guard Corey Beck already is among the league's elite players. Led by the inside-outside punch of Kennedy Tucker and Yo'Myrie Morris, North Little Rock will stand in Fayette- ville's way of repeating as state cham- pions. Conway, Fort Smith Northside and Little Rock Central are expected to be strong from the 7A-Central, too. 7 A G I R L S P R E V I E W Fayetteville faces tougher competition in title defense MIKE CAPSHAW NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE File Photo Sasha Goforth (left), shown driving to the basket ahead of Rogers High's Madison Loyd, makes Fayetteville a legitimate threat to repeat as Class 7A state champions this year. The sophomore guard already has offers from a number of Division I schools. "Anytime you have the defending state champs in your conference, you're going to have to go through them. But there are going to be several really good teams in our league." Chris Bryant, Van Buren girls basketball coach See 7A GIRLS, Page 31