By Rubin E. Grant
Sarah Gordon laughed when she heard the tongue-in-cheek question: Who’s the better shooter, you or Caitlin Clark?
“Definitely Caitlin Clark,” Gordon responded with a giggle and no hesitation.
Gordon might not be in the same class with Clark, Iowa’s 6-0 star who’s on pace to become the all-time leading career shooter in NCAA basketball, women’s or men’s, but Gordon, Vestavia Hills’ versatile 6-0 junior, is a superb scorer in her own right.
Gordon scored a career-high 42 points in the Rebels’ opening game of the season, a 72-54 victory against Theodore in Gulf Shores.
“I knew I had a bunch of points, but I didn’t know that many,” Gordon said.
A few games later, she scored 39 points and made eight steals in a 68-48 victory at Hartselle.
Two weeks ago, Gordon scored eight of her game-high 18 points in the final 3:56 as Vestavia Hills earned its first win against Hoover in 18 years with a 43-41 home victory. Gordon sank a 3-pointer with 3:56 remaining, added a 3-point play and scored a fast-break layup to lift the Rebels to victory.
“We were all ready for that game and we were prepared,” Gordon said. “We trusted each other and the coaches’ game plan. That was a big win for our program.”
Last Friday, Gordon scored only 14 points, sinking three 3’s, but didn’t play the final 10 minutes because of the Rebels’ sizable lead in a 66-33 rout of Tuscaloosa County.
Gordon is averaging 19.4 points and shooting 41.1% from 3-point range, leading Vestavia Hills to a 22-3 record, including 4-0 in Class 7A, Area 5. She has scored 1,444 points for her career and is on pace to break the school record for career points, 2,012, held by Emma Smith, who graduated in 2022 and is a sophomore at the University of Denver.
Gordon has evolved as a scorer since starting on the varsity as a freshman.
“As a freshman, she was more of a role player and shot a lot of 3’s,” Vestavia Hills coach John David Smelser said. “The past two years, she’s become more than just a catch-and-shoot shooter. She’s become an all-round scorer. She can drive the ball to the basket, post up smaller guards because of her size and she crashes the glass and scores on putbacks.”
Gordon does it all while being the focal point of opposing defenses.
“I feel like some games I am face guarded the whole game to keep from me from getting the ball,” Gordon said.
But that hasn’t stopped Gordon from getting buckets.
“It comes from a lot of practice and God-gifted talent,” she said.
According to Smelser, Gordon is more than just a scorer.
“She’s athletic,” he said. “She does everything – defends, rebounds and scores. She’s come a long way, making herself an all-around player.”
Southeast All Stars Player
Gordon’s well-rounded game is one of the reasons she’s the only player from Alabama on the elite Southeast All Stars AAU program based in Atlanta.
“They have players from Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and North Carolina,” Gordon said. “They were playing in a tournament at my high school when I was going into my freshman year. They saw me play then and reached out to me.”
Gordon already is going through the recruiting process. “It’s an awesome experience,” she said. “At this point I’m keeping my options open.”
She’s also enjoying playing with her twin sister, Emma Gordon, for Vestavia Hills.
“We’re very close,” Sarah Gordon said. “We do everything together. She has started a few games this season. It’s great having her out there with me.”
This season, Sarah Gordon has stepped into more of a leadership role for the Rebels.
“We’ve got a lot of young girls who look up to me being a leader,” Gordon said. “My freshman year, I looked up to Emma Smith, her sister Ally and Carly Smith, too. They were amazing leaders. They taught me so much.”
Vestavia Hills reached the 2022 Class 7A championship game during Gordon’s freshman season, falling to Hoover in the final. She is hoping to lead the Rebels back to the Final Four next month.
The Rebels were scheduled to play at Hoover on Tuesday, then visit Thompson on Friday before closing the regular season on Jan. 29 at home against Huffman.
“I think we’re playing really good basketball,” Gordon said. “Since our loss to Chelsea (42-27 on Nov. 9), we flipped a switch and have been working hard. I think that brought us together as a team and we complement each other.
“I think we can go far. We’ve got to keep working hard and keep getting better every day.”
