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MAR.
26 — Goshen Signs True Point Guard In Arnold
Pendleton
Heights senior second prep to join program this spring |
Pendleton,
IN — After the most successful Goshen College women’s
basketball season was compiled using point guards by committee
this year, it is interesting to surmise what might happen with
a true point guard on the Leafs’ roster. Fans will get
the chance to see exactly that next season, as the team announced
the signing Pendleton Heights High School senior Sarah Arnold
on Friday.
Arnold, a 5-3 left-handed point guard, leaves the Arabian program
as the school’s
all-time leader in assists with 377 career dishes. She also holds the record
for assists in a single season (135) and is fifth in the Pendleton record books
in total steals (139). She now joins LaVille High School product Kelsy McKee
in Goshen’s 2004-2005 recruiting class.
“We are very happy
with Sarah deciding to commit to Goshen College,” said Steve Wiktorowski,
Goshen head coach. “She fills a big need for us. We really didn’t
have a true point guard and we really like the skills that Sarah brings to that
role. She is a good ballhandler, has good quickness and runs the fast break well.”
Arnold will help spell to-be seniors Kortney Hanson and Candice Williams at the
lead guard spot, as that duo that shared point guard duties for Wiktorowski most
of the 2003-2004 season. Wiktorowski said he thinks Arnold will help both Hanson
and Williams increase their scoring opportunities by playing off of the ball
more often.
“Sarah is an exceptional passer who is uncanny in her ability to find and
get the ball to open people,” Wiktorowski said. “We also like the
fact that she is left-handed, a quality you don’t often see in point guards.”
Arnold averaged just 4.6 points per game during her varsity career
at Pendleton Heights, but dished out 5.1 assists per game, including
5.6 helpers per game
as a senior. She connected on 40 percent of her shots during her high school
career, and was voted as her team’s Co-MVP by her teammates this season.
“I told Sarah since her sophomore year that there would be a school out
there that would recruit her for her point guard abilities,” said Shari
Doud, Pendleton Heights head coach. “She’s a great ballhandler, she’s
a great defender and she will silently run the show and get the ball where it
needs to be. She proved this year that she can hit clutch shots and free throws,
and she is a very classy young lady that always gives 100 percent.”
Arnold said she plans on studying elementary education once at Goshen, and chose
the school over Franklin College, Taylor University and Anderson University,
among others.
“I really liked the team here, as well as the education professors that
I met,” Arnold said. “The facilities were very nice as were the coaches.
It just felt like the right place for me to be.”
Wiktorowski said he thinks his team will benefit not just offensively
from Arnold’s
presence, but on the defensive end as well. At Pendleton, Arnold averaged nearly
two steals per game during her career.
“Sarah’s athletic ability is apparent on defense, and her aggressiveness
will not only help us to put pressure on the ball further up the floor but also
help us in advancing the ball against teams that apply pressure over the entire
court,” Wiktorowski said. “She is a quiet leader that runs offense
very well. She is a great person from a fine family, and I think she will fit
in very well with our other players and add to our team chemistry. Sarah should
make a real contribution early in her career at Goshen.”
The Leafs concluded the 2003-2004 season with an overall record
of 26-9, tops
in school history. Wiktorowski’s team won both the Mid-Central Conference
regular-season and tournament titles, and appeared in the NAIA National Tournament
for the first time in program history. Check back to this website for the most
up-to-date recruiting information and team news. To contact Steve Wiktorowski,
call him at (574) 535-7492 or click here to
send him an email. |
  Sarah
Arnold
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