They’ve been a steady top-10 team all season and of late, have justified that with an eight-game win streak that includess finishing a sweep of No. 5 Sapulpa, a win over No. 3 Jenks and a double-digit win over No. 7 Bixby.

Yet for the Muskogee Lady Roughers, there’s this pesky first-round playoff history of futility. Seven consecutive times, they’ve bowed out in the first round, most recently last year’s 35-27 stumble at Jenks High School against Claremore, in which they shot 27.5 percent for the night, including 10 percent in the first half.

Most of those years, a quick exit wasn’t all that surprising. But the fortunes of the program were lifted with higher expectations from last year’s talented group which despite the finish managed the program’s first winning season at 14-8 since 2005.

Minus one starter, they’re back, and at 17-6 going into tonight’s 6:30 p.m tipoff at Bixby against Westmoore.

And those expectations are white-hot intense.

Muskogee coach Doyle Rowland says that expectation starts in the locker room.

“It puts a little pressure on us,” Rowland said. “But these girls are taking this seriously.

“By failing in the first round it makes you sit back and wonder why you didn’t get past that the last three years. They’re the ones who laid on the floor and cried their hearts out up there at Jenks, knowing we were the better team. That left some deep scars.”

But they’ve got some ideas as to why.

It took the pains of a three-game losing streak following their third consecutive Shrine Classic tournament championship, including two second-half collapses against Bixby and Union, to get there.

“We’ve found our chemistry,” said 6-foot-4 senior Deanna Moore. “Not just on the floor but in time outs, everyone’s encouraging each other. You could go in our locker room at any time we’re there and see us laughing at just the goofiest stuff and everyone’s laughing together.”

That, said fellow senior Morgan Walker, has helped them to relax and focus on the court.

“We’ve come together mentally,” she said. “We’ve learned how to win games in the fourth quarter, how to finish games we’ve started.”

The talent has been there.

Junior guard Kelsey McClure, the team’s leading scorer, will be on the Division I watch list next season. Alexus Wilson is one of the area’s toughest defenders. The inside trio of Moore, Chelsie Keys and Coco Epps have been effective.

While Moore is more of a banger and doesn’t bring the offensive punch of a Keys or Epps, her three-week absence with an ankle injury during the January slide helped the other two rise to the occasion in their total game. The most recent example of that: Keys had 17 points and 19 rebounds against Jenks.

Then there’s Walker, a role player who defends the top guard and has come up with opportunistic steals in key situations down the stretch.

But the best example of the mental growth can be found in a contrast of similar game situations this season. One was the season-opener at Broken Arrow. Leading by eight points in the fourth quarter, they were running-and-gunning, shooting 3s and trying to overwhelm with their athleticism rather than utilizing the clock to their advantage. They ended up losing 50-49.

Against Bixby on Feb. 7, the Lady Spartans were making a run late. This time, Muskogee used a patient passing game, intent to draw a foul and go to the line. The ripple was stemmed and Muskogee wound up winning by 22 against a team they lost to by 15 coming off the Shrine title.

“We’re definitely playing with more composure,” Moore said. “When we’re in that situation the clock is on our side. Let them play us instead of us playing them.”

Adds Rowland:  “They’ve become comfortable with what we’re asking them to do and you can really see the chemistry and confidence. Their awareness out there is so much better, they know where everybody is on the court.

“They’ve really taken care of business and I think they will in the playoffs. I think they’re the best team in the state now and they think that now. But talk is cheap and we know that we’ve got to go prove it. And the first rule of thumb is they can’t go lay a goose egg (tonight).”

That would be against Westmoore (10-13), losers of four of its last five games. One of those was a 34-33 loss against then fourth-ranked Edmond Memorial.

Walker says the first-round futility isn’t being discussed.

“We’re aware of it but we don’t talk about it,” she said. “We know it’s all about one game at a time. We’re focused on the team we’re playing next and not the position we’re in.”

The winner of that game gets the Bixby-Broken Arrow winner at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Saturday’s winner is one victory from a state berth, which would be Muskogee’s first since 2001.