Aubrey Janes and Emma Rodgers were the Montgomery County Wildcats’ dynamic duo at the Montgomery County Invitational Tournament.

The two players combined to score 83 points in three games of the eight-team tournament. Their efforts helped the Wildcats capture their third consolation championship of the MCHS tournament.

MCHS cruised to a 52-31 win over the Fulton Hornets in the consolation finals on Dec. 6 at Montgomery County Middle School. The Wildcats improved to 2-2 after losing their first two games of the season.

“It’s just the start of the season, so it’s really slow,” said Janes, a junior. “But I think we’re picking it up and getting the hang of things, so I think it will be better as we go on to the season.”

Third-seeded MCHS bounced back from a 46-43 upset loss to sixth-seeded Hermann in a first-round game on Dec. 3 to win its first consolation championship since 2017. The Wildcats beat seventh-seeded New Haven 43-25 in the consolation semifinals on Dec. 5.

“Hermann was a great team,” said Rodgers, a sophomore. “They played amazing defense. But it was kind of just ourselves that we needed to get back up, not the physical aspect, but the mental aspect.” 

Janes was the Wildcats’ leading scorer with 43 points. Rodgers was second with 40 points and was named to the all-tournament team.

Janes scored 27 points with three 3-pointers against Fulton. She had 11 in the second quarter and 10 in the third.

“It was nice,” Janes said. “I haven’t been able to do a lot recently in the past few games, so I’m glad to finally get my groove back.”

Janes, who earned all-tournament honors last year, started tournament play with an 11-point effort against Hermann. She finished with just five against New Haven.

Rodgers scored 21 points – including 14 in the second half – against Hermann. She finished with 12 against New Haven. Against Fulton, she scored all seven of her points in the second half.

Rodgers was the lone MCHS representative on the all-tournament team.

“It really means a lot because I feel like I put in a lot of work this season,” the sophomore said. “Just to see it pay off is really great. To see that my team is doing really great is amazing to see, too.”

Last year, Janes and Rodgers were the 1-2 scoring punch for the Wildcats and were named to the all-Eastern Missouri Conference team.

This year, the duo is looking to help its team finish with its ninth consecutive winning season. MCHS, which finished 15-12 last year, was scheduled to play a road game against Southern Boone on Dec. 9 and will play a home game against New Haven on Dec. 11.

The Wildcats’ 2025-26 season began on Nov. 21 on a heartbreaking note as they lost 45-42 to Monroe City at home on a three-pointer as time expired.

“That was really tough,” Janes said. “I felt like we should have won that game, but things happen for a reason.” 

Janes and Rodgers lead a team that lost Aliviah Fischer to graduation, but returns five players from last year and has three freshmen. The Wildcats also have junior Reese Hill, who is back on the team after not playing last year.

“I think we can do a lot especially with Reese back,” said Janes, who is playing in her third season with the varsity. “She has helped us a lot, especially on the defensive end. I think in each game, we’ll get better and better. Hopefully, we’ll come out with a winning season.”

Rodgers scored 19 points against Monroe City. The sophomore said she was excited to come back for another season with the Wildcats.

“It’s great,” she said. “I love to play with my team. It’s sad that we lost (Aliviah), but to lose only one person and get to come back to play with my same team is great.” 

Another returning player, sophomore Addie Schroer, injured her left knee in the third quarter against Fulton and sat out the rest of the game. 

“She is a very good rebounder and she hustles everywhere she goes,” Janes said. “She has never been lazy or anything. She always has a good attitude and that really helps our team stay up.”

Before this season, the Wildcats had finished in the top four in the MCHS tournament in each of the last six years. They placed third in last year’s tournament.

Against Fulton, MCHS trailed 4-2 early in the first quarter before going on a 6-0 run to take an 8-2 lead it never relinquished. The 52 points marked a season high for the Wildcats.