ALTON - At just five-foot-four-inches, many coaches told Marquette Catholic senior Haley Rodgers that she wasn't going to make it out on the basketball court.
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She wanted to prove them all wrong and that's exactly what she did.
After being in talks with a college coach for about a year she made the decision to continue her basketball career at Greenville University.
She signed her letter of intent Wednesday afternoon fulfilling a dream that she's had for many years now.
"I went to a college game with my dad, it was actually a Lewis and Clark game, and it's just been my dream ever since to play in college," Rodgers said.
She certainly wasn't going to let her size get in her way.
"I started basketball in sixth grade, I've always been small," Rodgers said.
"I've had a few coaches tell me that I can't do it because of my height and size but I'm happy to say I've made my dream come true."
For overcoming the odds, Haley Rodgers is a Tucker's Automotive Repair & Tire Female Athlete of the Month for the Explorers.
Rodgers was a transfer to Marquette having gone to Piasa Southwestern for her first two years of high school. She played varsity basketball all four years and says that her favorite basketball memory was as a Piasa Bird.
She doesn't remember what game exactly, but she remembers in one of the later games before she left Southwestern she made a three-pointer and the bench went absolutely crazy.
In her final two years at Marquette, she became a regular starter at point guard and a key part of the team. As a junior, she scored 69 points and this season she's amassed 252 points which leads the team.
She mentioned that Greenville's coaching staff was very friendly in the decision-making process and that her new team immediately welcomed her.
"It's only an hour away. It feels like home, it feels like Marquette," Rodgers said.
While at Greenville she plans to get her degree in biochemistry.
Haley said that she's going to miss the family and friends she's made at Marquette on and off the court.
But it's not over quite yet. She's confident her team is going to have a good run in this upcoming postseason.
"I'm so ready. Coach thinks we'll do well in regionals and I'm hoping we will because I want to keep it going."
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