After four years, Bailey Fischer has gotten this Eastern Missouri Conference thing all figured out.

The Montgomery County senior played for four EMO championship teams in volleyball. Now this winter, she’s looking to help the girls basketball team win its fourth straight conference crown.

Fischer and the Wildcats are off to a 3-0 start in EMO play after beating the North Callaway Ladybirds 52-31 on Dec. 20 at Ballew & Snell Court. MCHS also extended its conference winning streak to 33 games.

“Coming into as a freshman, I didn’t know what conference meant,” Fischer said. “I was like, ‘Conference what?’ Then, we won it. Now, I have kind of kept it in my head that I want to keep it going for myself as a senior and for the younger girls coming up.”

The Wildcats also improved to 7-3 overall. They bounced back from a 42-30 loss to Highland (Ill.) in the Rumble In The River Shootout in Quincy, Ill., on Dec. 17. MCHS will be back in action on Dec. 30 with a road game against Monroe City.

“I think we’re playing really well,” MCHS junior Morgan Koch said. “Since we have all of the returnees (from last year), we’re just working through some kinks and we’re really working on our defense this year. Our defense has really improved from last year.”

The Wildcats are looking to finish with their sixth straight winning season. Last year, they won 20 games and captured conference and district titles.

“That was an experience I’ll never forget,” Fischer said. “I’ll never forget the crowd at districts. There was cheering from all of my teammates on the bench. At sectionals, the crowd was amazing. It was fun to be in that atmosphere.”

MCHS won all three of its conference games by 21 points. The Wildcats also had league victories over Silex on Dec. 12 and Wellsville-Middletown four days later. Their next conference game will be on Jan. 17 at Bowling Green.

“Everybody is out for us this year because we had the conference and district titles last year,” Koch said. “We know everybody is coming out with their best shot to give us. We’re ready for anything they bring to us.”

Junior Olivia Shaw, who helped the Wildcats’ volleyball and girls cross country teams win EMO titles last fall, scored a game-high 23 points, including 10 in the second quarter. With MCHS trailing 17-15 late in the second quarter, Shaw scored six straight points to give her team a 21-17 lead it would never relinquish.

Juniors Malia Rodgers and Maddy Queathem scored 10 points apiece for the Wildcats, who beat North Callaway for the sixth straight meeting and snapped the Ladybirds’ five-game winning streak.

“I think that North Callaway and Montgomery always have a big rivalry,” Koch said. “There’s a lot of intensity and aggression between the two teams, so it feels good to come out with the win.”

No MCHS girls basketball team has won four straight conference titles. Fischer said capturing another EMO crown will be special for her and her senior teammates, Carson Flake, Carissa Doyle and Maddie Wisdom.

“It will be great,” Fischer said. “It’s definitely something I know our seniors have been working towards since we won it in our freshman year.”