If there is one thing that Olivia Wilson and her Wright City girls basketball teammates know all too well, it’s the sting of adversity.

Recently, though, the junior and her fellow Wildcats have been putting that sting on the opposition.

It started with the team defeating the previously unbeaten St. Clair on January 7 and continued with a championship win at the Wildcats’ home tournament, beating Veritas Christian 45-42 two days later.

The tournament championship was the program's first since it captured a district title near the end of the 2005-06 season.

“We have struggled with adversity all season, and we just had (enough of that) tonight,” Wilson said. “We wanted to win our tournament. It feels really good to know that we can come together as a team and I’m really proud of this team. It is extremely special.”

The title game itself wasn’t without adversity.

After rolling to a commanding 27-16 lead on Veritas at the half, Wright City (3-7) trailed 33-30 after the third quarter.

Senior guard Shiriah McRoberts, who led Wright City with 18 points, said that, unlike a loss before Christmas, when the Wildcats led Veritas at halftime before going cold in the second half, the team made adjustments, which made all the difference.

“Tonight, it was our offense,” said McRoberts of the difference between games. “We got into the flow better. We started passing, cutting and getting open. We started strong and did that again (in the fourth quarter). It led to more shots for us.”

Perhaps there were no bigger shots than the one from Wilson late in the fourth quarter.

With the game tied at 39 and just under two minutes remaining, she converted a conventional 3-point play to give the team the lead for good.

“I’m just glad that my teammates trust me enough with the ball, that feels so good,” Wilson said. “They believed that I could get us those points and it was awesome to (reward that belief). I just made that cut to get open and scored when I got hit. That’s the type of thing you have to do if you want to be a champion. That’s what we all did.”

McRoberts added that seeing Wilson succeed meant a lot not only to the team as a whole but also to McRoberts, personally.

“That felt really good, I feel good for her,” McRoberts said. “Sometimes, we’ve struggled with our bigs. A lot of that comes from us struggling to get them the ball in the paint. I feel really good about the team because we worked to get her looks and she finished. Especially at the end.”

In addition to McRoberts’ effort, Wright City received nine points from Wilson, six from junior guard Ada Ferrell, and four each from seniors Kaitlyn Mikus, Kaylee Mikus, and sophomore Madison Goodman.

Wildcats coach Dustin Elledge said that a total team effort is emblematic of the Wildcats turning over a new leaf, of sorts, on the mental side of the game.

“We’ve had games all year where we’ve struggled with some sort of adversity, whether it’s getting down or losing our momentum, whatever it is,” Elledge said. “It’s a new year and a new us. We figured out we’ve got to get out of our heads and show up and play.”

While the entire team ‘showed up,’ a trio of Wildcats were honored for their body of work at the event.

McRoberts (39 points in the two tournament games), Wilson (19 combined points) and Ferrell (14) were named to the all-tournament team.

“It feels good,” McRoberts said. “We work hard as a team and I work hard as a captain. This (honor) feels good. This (championship) feels great.”

With the championship under the team’s collective belt, the Wildcats have to turn attention to a very important stretch of games.

Wright City will play the majority of its Eastern Missouri Conference games in the coming weeks.

“We’re going to need every girl who steps on the court to play a vital role,” Elledge said. “Communication is key for us. We’re going to have to work hard to build that very important momentum as we go through the rest of the season.”