Northport’s Goodwin fights good fight against tough odds
When Northport athletic director Don Baribault talks about sophomore three-sport athlete Kaprina Goodwin, he uses the term “diamond in the rough.”
It was appropriate this winter, as she often sparkled during a rough 1-18 girls basketball season.
Goodwin was second in the Panorama League in scoring at 19.3 points a game and was responsible for 60 percent of her team’s total points this year.
That didn’t translate to wins, as the Mustangs were forced to suit up eighth-graders in an attempt to fill out their roster.
“It’s just frustrating knowing that we practice so hard and just can’t pull off a win,” Goodwin said. “Most of our girls sports don’t win very much, but everybody tries hard.”
At 6-feet, Goodwin often saw double- and triple-teams and was followed all over the court by opposing defenses.
Still, she had a triple-double on Friday against Wellpinit (16 points, 14 rebounds and 11 blocks), had double-digit blocks in two other games and scored 34 in their only win this season against the Kettle Falls JV.
“She’s just a super competitor, so it’s hard on her to do so well individually and not see it transfer into team victories,” Baribault said. “She hasn’t brought up the play of the teams yet, but she’s pretty special I think, a 6-footer who can do the things she can.”
Northport got a glimpse of winning in the Panorama League last year, when it broke an 83-game league losing streak thanks to Goodwin’s 25 points and 14 rebounds in a victory over Columbia.
Although it hasn’t worked out yet on the hardwood, Goodwin knows a thing or two about winning.
During track season as a freshman, Goodwin hadn’t focused a whole lot on the triple jump.
“I looked at the standings going to district and state and tried to pick it up a little more.”
She won the triple jump at the State B championships with a 34-foot, 9-inch leap and finished fourth in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles.
She’s also made the all-league team twice in volleyball, which she said is her favorite sport, “because I can hit the ball as hard as I can without getting yelled at.”
With quite a bit already accomplished, her goals are big for the rest of her 2 1/2 years at Northport.
“In volleyball, we want to go to districts and maybe to state,” Goodwin said. “Basketball, we hopefully will go to the playoffs, and I want to win more championships in the hurdles and the triple jump.”