FAYETTEVILLE 49,

LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL 40

A one-year absence from the Class 7A girls state championship game was long enough for Coach Vic Rimmer and Fayetteville.

Freshman Sasha Goforth led Fayetteville with 14 points, and junior Jasmine Franklin scored 13 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in a victory over Little Rock Central. It will be Rimmer’s fifth finals trip as a coach, and the second for his senior class.

“Physically, we were tough tonight, but mentally we were tough being able to handle the ball,” Rimmer said. “It’s so hard to rebound against them, so hard to score. The kids, these seniors, understand what it takes to win a game like that.”

The Lady Bulldogs rebounded 48.9 percent of their missed shots, led by Franklin’s 11 offensive boards.

“It’s incredible, but I’m not surprised, actually,” Fayetteville guard Ashley Breathitt said of Franklin. “She worked her butt off from the first to the fourth quarter. I knew if I missed my shots she was going to rebound them.”

Fayetteville grabbed a 25-18 lead in the third quarter, but Central responded with a 12-0 spurt to take a 30-25 edge.

Fayetteville swung back in the fourth quarter behind Goforth’s six points.

“She bailed us out on several plays,” Rimmer said of Goforth. “She got us going scoring-wise, and these girls trust her and try to get her the basketball.”

Fayetteville’s defense was stout, holding Central to 14 of 53 (26 percent) from the floor. The Lady Bulldogs held Central’s trio of Bre’Amber Scott, Erynn Barnum and Abigayle Jackson to 10-of-45 shooting.