Rogersville girls basketball's Class 4 semifinal appearance only made it hungrier for more
COLUMBIA — In the fifth grade, Logan-Rogersville's current crop of talented juniors started to talk amongst themselves about what it would be like to lead the Lady Wildcats to a state semifinal.
It became their dream. After seeing the 2019 team finish third in the state, a basketball-loving group wanted to know what it felt like to play on the state's biggest stage.
The dream came true. The Lady Wildcats, led by their juniors, were among the state's best for the entire season, earning them a trip to Mizzou Arena in Columbia to play in the MSHSAA Show-Me Showdown.
"The lights were a lot brighter," Rogersville center Reagan Rasmussen laughed. "The court was a lot bigger than I'm used to, too."
The Lady Wildcats got a taste of reaching the state's pinnacle. After coming up short in a hard-fought 58-44 semifinal against Benton on Friday night, it only made them want more.
"This is definitely going to fuel us a lot," Rogersville star Hailey Buckman said. "Hopefully, next year, we'll just be older, much more mature, and we'll bring it even more."
Buckman thought the 2024-25 season was about the Lady Wildcats learning how to win. The Lady Wildcats figured to have something special brewing in 2022-23 when the current juniors were freshmen. They went on to win 21 games and advance to a sectional by year two.
This season, that group — juniors Buckman, Rasmussen, Eden Kibby and Taylor Wray — helped the Lady Wildcats get over the hump, avenging its sectional loss to Aurora and then winning a quarterfinal to advance to its second semifinal in school history.
Other youngsters like sophomores Millie MacPherson, Sidney Holland and Addison Cleghorn also contributed to one of the great seasons in Lady Wildcats history. The team only loses one senior, Hayden Cleghorn, heading into what should be a 2025-26 season with high expectations.
"Hopefully, we get another run at this thing," Rogersville coach Cory Watts said. "It's not a given. We tell them all the time that this is an opportunity and to not waste it."
Despite coming up 14 points short against Benton, the Lady Wildcats didn't give any reasons to hang their heads.
The Cardinals showcased an incredibly deep roster with line-shift substitutions on and off the floor. The game looked like it was going to get out of hand in the second quarter when the Cardinals went on a 10-0 run to build their lead up to 13.
Benton's lead only increased to 18 in the hours after Mizzou Arena witnessed a game that ended with a 60-point differential. There was no quit in the Lady Wildcats, which saw Buckman score 17 points with 10 rebounds and MacPherson go for 10.
"These girls don't let go of the rope; they think they're as good as anyone in the state," Watts said. "I'm really proud that they believe that they can beat anybody. We tried to fight through some things, and we did our best."
Rogersville will now play in Saturday's 2 p.m. third-place game against MICDS, attempting to match the program's highest finish.
Once the final buzzer sounds, the Lady Wildcats will pursue their new dream of a Columbia return.
"They've been wanting to do this for a long time," Watts said. "I think we got here probably a year before maybe people expected it. I'm really proud of that. They've done a good job working at it, and the good news is that we have one senior, and everybody else is coming back."
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Rogersville girls basketball falls to Benton in Class 4 semifinal
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