Just four years ago, Fulton canceled its girls basketball season due to low numbers.

The Steamers have been on the rise ever since.

Although fifth-seeded Fulton fell 50-34 to third-seeded Wethersfield in Monday’s Class 1A regional semifinal, the Steamers (20-11) still finished with their most wins since since going 20-6 in the 1993-94 season.

The Flying Geese (21-9) will face second-seeded Pecatonica in Thursday’s regional final at 6 p.m.

Fulton took a step in the right direction last year with 10 wins. The Steamers had just three the year before following the canceled campaign.

Fulton doubled that number this season with a team that started three sophomores.

“It was definitely the best season out of all four years,” Fulton senior Haley Smither said. “This year we had such a good team connection, and I feel like we all were in the season for the same reasons.”

Smither said it was stressful at the beginning of the rebuilding process. She was just one of three seniors this season.

“I remember freshman year, we all wanted to quit. We didn’t want to be here anymore,” she said. “Just sticking with it really brought us together even closer. That first season kind of set the rest of the years up.

“It brought us all together. It set the basis for our connection.”

Sophomore Breleigh Hayton led Fulton (20-11) with 12 points on a night in which the shots just weren’t falling. Fouls and turnovers also piled up as the Steamers struggled to find a rhythm among the whistles.

Fulton was also 4 for 11 at the line in the first half and trailed 22-15 at the break. Lana Scott got going for the Geese and finished with 22 points.

“I thought we battled and we played hard,” Fulton coach Mike Menchaca said. “I just felt like one side was able to play more aggressive than the other, and that’s unfortunate.

“We don’t get any rhythm when that stuff happens.”

Fulton’s win over Milledgeville on Saturday was its first postseason victory since 2020.

“We’re back on the map as a program,” Menchaca said. “Now we’ve just got to continue to run kids through and make sure they’re on the same page with our philosophy and build on that. I’d like to thank our seniors, Haley and Belle [Curley], especially, [they] have been with me for a long time.

“They went from the worst side of history now to leading a team to 20 wins.”

Curley said the team has been a family.

“It was really special this year, and I’m really gonna miss them. They really helped turn this whole program around and make a name for ourselves,” Curley said. “It was really special seeing it build over the years and seeing more and more people show up in the stands.”

Fulton will look to continue its ascent behind its younger returning players.

“And we’ve got some more good kids coming up,” Curley said. “It’s going to be a good future, and I’m really proud of them and everything they’ve done for the program.”

“The sophomores we have right now and even the freshman, there’s so much potential there,” Smither said. “I’m really excited to see where they go.”

Coffey said growing the team and working in practice has led to the improvement. The Steamers hope to continue their rise.

“We’re just going to get better and better every year,” Coffey said. “We have so much more coming up next year.”