Rogowski wants a downstate encore

So what does Megan Rogowski think of heading into her senior year as one of Hersey's all-time greats in girls basketball?

What does she think of already becoming the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,627 points?

Not much.

She doesn't even use words to answer.

Instead, she just shrugs her right hand as if to say there is much more work to do.

That same hand is the one she has used for what she calls her "fish hook shot" taught to her by her father years ago.

It has worked to make one of the all-time top shooters in Mid-Suburban League history.

And Rogowski's past work helped lead the Huskies to third place in the Class 4A state finals last March and it has rewarded her with a scholarship to play for DePaul University.

While she goes mum on her individual stats, the DePaul recruit isn't shy about what she wants for her team.

"When my team made it downstate last season, that was the best time I've had in basketball," she said. "I still remember how great that feeling was after the supersectional. "We've (Hersey) won a regional, a sectional and supersectional since I've been here but never the Mid-Suburban League East championship.

"Now I feel we have a great chance to do that."

And of course another trip to Normal wouldn't be all that bad either.

"As Megan's teammates and coaches, I think we all realize how lucky we are to watch her play," said Hersey coach Mary Fendley. "We'll work really hard, and try to continually improve so that we can let Megan and her senior teammates have a chance to finish their careers at Redbird Arena."

With Rogowski leading the way, the Huskies' certainly are in the running.

Rogowski has been playing the sport for as long as she can remember.

Her father Casey's passion for basketball rubbed off on the family.

Megan's older sister Kelly was a four-year varsity guard at Hersey and now plays for Loras College.

Younger sister Claire (fifth grade) and brother Scott (third grade), are students at St. Emily School in Mt. Prospect and also play basketball.

"My dad (Casey played basketball at Lane Tech High School) was obsessed with basketball and my mom (Judy, a Palatine High grad) was always athletic," Megan said. "My dad played basketball with (Hersey boys basketball players) Kyle and Connor Miklasz's dad (Ed) at Northeastern (Illinois).

"Kelly and I used to play against Connor (senior at Hersey) and Kyle (freshman at Illinois State) all the time in the driveway.

"I actually got Kelly hooked on basketball. She used to be a gymnast. My dad really taught us the game. There's always a lot of basketball talk at our house."

When she was at St. Emily, Rogowski played on a Catholic Conference championship team in seventh grade.

In the fifth grade, she and her St. Emily teammates went to a DePaul women's basketball game on a night when Hall of Fame Blue Demon basketball player Joann Feieriesel Begrowicz was being honored. At the time, Begrowicz was coaching at St. Emily.

Little did Megan know she would one day be playing for the same Blue Demons program she was watching at McGrath Arena that evening.

"I never thought it would happen then," Rogowski said about playing D-I basketball. "I was just amazed at the atmosphere and how cool it was that night. I thought how neat it would be to be part of that some day."

That day will come after one more season in the orange and brown, wearing No. 32, coincidentally the same number her father wore at Northeastern.

Rogowski has already broken nine school records. She also led Hersey last season with 49 steals while collecting 163 rebounds and 74 assists.

"It's hard to ask Megan to do anymore than she's done over the past three years," Fendley said. "But I think this year will be different in her role as a leader."

Last year, the Huskies had four seniors who served as standout leaders.

"This year, Megan, with help from the other seniors, needs to assume that role," Fendley said. "Megan will also be expected to do a lot more on the defensive end of the court and she seems to be looking forward to that new challenge."

That's for sure.

"Obviously, putting the ball in the basket is rewarding," Rogowski said. "But there are so many other parts of the game that are important and don't get as much recognition.

"A player like Eileen (Zydek, Huskies senior forward) might not have the big stats but there are so many other little things that she does and I think that is so cool."

While Rogowski knows the Huskies need her to score, she makes smart decisions.

"She's very unselfish," Fendley said. "She takes shots when that is what is best for our team. She doesn't keep track of her stats. I think Megan learned freshman year, when we had a losing team, that a team win is the most important statistic."