SHOW LOW — The pain of losing the 3A state championship game a season ago hasn’t left the consciousness of the Show Low girls basketball family.

In fact, their collective suffering has brought them closer together as a team.

“I know losing in the finals stung a little bit and there is somewhat of a chip on our shoulders,” Show Low head coach Christie Francis said.

And if that pain wasn’t enough, six of the 12 players currently on the roster wrapped up an undefeated Cougar girls soccer regular season, only to get beat in the fall state championship match in early November by Northland Prep, 2-1.

“Being that close and losing hurts,” Francis said about both state title games, which happened within 10 months of each other. “They remember the pain. They are [doing] whatever it takes to make sure they don’t feel that again.”

With that, Show Low rattled off 17 straight wins to begin their basketball season. Not bad for a town of 11,000-plus nestled in the pines of the White Mountains and along the Mogollon Rim in eastern Arizona.

Leading scorer Raquel Wilson, averaging 15.6 points, 4.6 steals and 5.6 rebounds per game so far season, said people have begun to pay more attention to Show Low girls basketball after their 52-35 loss to No. 8-seeded Alchesay last February.

But they are far from done.

“We want to prove that we belong at state again this year,” Wilson said. “This is our ultimate goal and we are all determined to reach it. Every girl on the roster loves the game of basketball and wants to play it in the moment.”

One of the highlights this season for Show Low (17-1, 0-0 3A East) was defeating defending 4A state champion Flagstaff in their own holiday tournament back in December, 42-39.

“[That’s] my favorite moment,” senior guard Mikenzie Kulish said. “Our entire team really came together and worked really hard for the win.”

Those wins don’t come cheap. The price? Hard work, Kulish said.

“There is definitely no ‘I’ in our team, and everyone does their part to be successful in the games,” Kulish said. “Everyone is super encouraging on the bench, which keeps the game alive.”

Added Wilson, “We need to continue working hard and pushing each other in practice.”

Wilson also echoed her teammates’ thoughts on the Pepsi Invitational, claiming the tournament title against the Eagles on their own home floor.

“Our team really came together both on and off the court, especially during a tough final game,” Wilson said. “That tournament was a big step in the right direction.”

Francis said her club has three sets of sisters on the roster, certainly making the Show Low basketball family unique.

“One of the things we constantly talk about is being a family. Taking care of each other, caring about each other and putting others’ needs ahead of our own,” Francis said, adding the girls regularly hang out with each other outside the confines of a basketball gym.  

“There is a lot of laughing, teasing and friendship among the girls,” Francis said. “My hope is they are forging life-long relationships and the memories we are creating go well beyond the success on the court.”

So, while their basketball family continues to build lifelong memories during team dinners at Texas Roadhouse, where a certain prankster “who shall remain nameless” told the waitress it was the coach’s birthday even though it wasn’t and watching the entire staff sing her happy birthday, to beating Flagstaff, to making Christmas ornaments together, Show Low has one goal in mind … win a state title.

“We believe that our team can go far,” Wilson said. “As far as the ‘Madhouse on McDowell’ if we really want to.”

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on Twitter @AzPreps365Brian. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.