A lot of girls don’t make it all the way back from one major knee injury. Very few return to the court after two. Junction City’s Taykeetria Rogers returned to play her senior season after two major knee surgeries.
And, she was better than ever.
The 5-foot-7 guard led the Lady Dragons to the quarterfinals of the 2A State Tournament. She averaged 12.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 4.2 steals per game.
“I think it was the best she’s ever played,” said Junction City coach Henry Harrell. “That had a lot to do with the other kids in front of her. This year, she knew she had to bring it. She stepped up and accepted the challenge. This year, I think, was her finest moment.”
Junction City enjoyed one of the best seasons in the history of the school’s girls’ basketball program. The Lady Dragons went 20-5, won the regular-season conference championship with a 15-1 record and claimed the regional championship.
It almost didn’t happen.
Rogers suffered knee injuries that cost her most of her sophomore and junior seasons. She seriously pondered if she wanted to even play basketball anymore.
“When we played last year, she had said she probably wasn’t going to play her senior year,” Harrell said. “I worried about that all summer long. ‘Man, what are we going to do?’ When we got back to school and she said she was going to give it a shot, that brought a big smile to my face. I was happy she made that decision to play her senior year.”
Rogers played with a spring in her step throughout the season. Her leaping ability was a factor on the offensive glass while her quickness showed itself on the defensive end. Normally a slasher to the basket, she drained 10 3-pointers as a senior and was the Lady Dragon on the line for most of the key free throws in the fourth quarter.
Still, Harrell said Rogers’ impact on the team didn’t show on the stat sheet.
“Her leadership, not only on the court but off the floor as well, I think that was the thing that stood out to me the most,” he said. “She was always encouraging the players. ‘Come on, we can do this.’ When they’d make a mistake she’d say, ‘Come on, you’ll get it right, next time.’ Stuff like that. I was very impressed with how she handled herself and how she handled her teammates. She was always encouraging them.”
Ironically, the season she almost surrendered due to injuries, saw her limping at the end. Rogers injured her ankle in the district tournament and had to fight through the pain the rest of the postseason.
When she didn’t miss a game, Harrell felt it was a jolt of positivity for the rest of the squad.
“To see her, basically go out there on one leg the last three or four ball games,” he began. “The trainer had said at one time he was going to shut her down. But, her mom and her talked about it. She had worked so hard to get back to this point. She was willing to sacrifice. Even though she could’ve possibly hurt it worse, she was willing to take that chance. That says a lot about the competitor that she is.
“She’s just an all-around athlete. It’s not just one thing she does great. She does a lot of intangible things that makes her the player she is, not only in basketball but softball and even cheer. She’s a good person, a good athlete, super-nice young lady. She carries herself the right way on and off the court. She’s just a super kid.”