The Rock Port girls placed fourth in the MSHSAA Class 1 State Basketball Championship, finishing the year with a record of 26 wins and 6 losses. Pictured, from left to right, are: front row – Tatum Vogler, Landrey Kelly, Raylynn Jenkins, Addy Maifeld, Avery Meyerkorth, Karlie Gebhards, Jaylynn Jones, Claire Spiegel, and Arianna Shimmel; and back row – Head Coach Austin Alitz, Claire Miller, Ella Meyerkorth, Audrie Meyerkorth, Braylyn Wood, Cali Driskell, Alexis Stanton, Assistant Coach Gary Davis, and managers Leah Meyerkorth and Stevie Gaines.
As the bus left for Columbia, it was escorted out of town by Sheriff Andrew Riley, Rock Port Fire Department, the Rock Port Police Department, and Double M Towing. Main Street was lined with fans cheering them on and wishing them good luck.
Ella Meyerkorth dives after a loose ball against Northeast Cairo.
Braylyn Wood gets an easy bucket against Northeast Cairo.
Tatum Vogler looks to pass the ball inside against Northeast Cairo.
Avery Meyerkorth drives the lane and goes up for two against Walnut Grove.
Audrie Meyerkorth drops two points from the lane against Northeast Cairo. Audrie finished the night with 25.
Addy Maifeld drives to the basket on a fast break against Northeast Cairo.
Karlie Gebhards applies pressure on a Northeast guard.
Landrey Kelly stays low as she picks up the Northeast Cairo guard at half court.
It has been 44 years since the Rock Port girls’ basketball team has been to the MSHSAA Final Four Basketball Championship. The girls punched their ticket this year with their quarterfinal win over Santa Fe.
The Lady Jays would start out in the first round on Friday, March 14, 2025, playing Northeast (Cairo) who had a record of 25-7. The Jays came out with strong defense and were staying with the Bearcats in the first half with the score 23-26 going into halftime. The third quarter the Jays were able to score 18 points to Northeast’s 19, making the end of the third quarter 41-45. The fourth quarter the Jays could only muster up 5 points to the Bearcats’ 11 with the final score 46-56.
This would put the Jays playing for third place against Walnut Grove, who was 24-5. The first quarter Rock Port came out on fire scoring 20 points to Walnut Grove’s 14, but in the second quarter someone closed the lid on the bucket as the Jays only managed 4 points to Walnut Grove’s 19 points making the score at halftime 33-24 Walnut Grove. The second half the Jays would struggle to get things going as they would put up 13 points in the third and 8 points in the fourth. The final score would be 45-58.
The Lady Jays have nothing to hang their heads about as they finished the year 26-6, tying the school record. They were fun to watch all season long as they played their hearts out. Good luck to the seniors and we look forward to what the future holds for the upcoming group of ladies.
