By YADIRA SANCHEZ OLSON - ysanchez@nwnewsgroup.com
Warren Township High School’s Sarah Boothe displays her trophies and plaques. She recently was named Ms. Basketball of Illinois. (Yadira Sanchez Olson photo)
GURNEE – Standing more than 6 feet tall and having won the title of the 2008 Ms. Basketball of Illinois makes 17-year-old Sarah Ashley Boothe special.
But she’s no different than most girls her age.
The Gurnee resident and student at Warren Township High School deals with what every high schooler deals with, such as homework and chores. And she likes to do what most her age like to do.
“I like to watch movies and hang out with my friends,” Boothe said. “My favorites are love movies.”
But the one love Boothe has been concentrating on the most is her love for the game of basketball. And that is one of the reasons why she was chosen to be the 2008 Ms. Basketball by the media and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association.
At 6-foot-5, Boothe is the tallest Ms. Basketball in the award’s 23 years.
Boothe has had an impressive track record of improvement over the years and just completed her best season by averaging 20.5 points and 11.2 rebounds for the 28-3 Blue Devils. She finishes her four-year basketball career as a starter and will play for Stanford at the college level.
Boothe said she chose Stanford because she liked the environment and the coaching staff.
“I’ve heard that you have to go with your gut feeling and I did,” Boothe said. “I’m very excited about moving on to Stanford.”
Boothe said one thing she feels she didn’t accomplish was winning the state championship.
But she doesn’t dwell on that. She prides herself on being a Christian and says that her parents have always been supportive of her.
“They taught me that basketball is what I do, not who I am,” Boothe said.
