Moments after his Montgomery County girls basketball team lost to Tipton in a Class 3 sectional game on March 2 at Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia, coach Joe Basinger got to hug all of the players as they exited the locker room.

Most of them were in tears.

“They’re very upset and they’re going to be upset,” Basinger said. “But this is something they’re going to look back on and remember.”

The Wildcats turned in one of their best seasons in program history. They finished 20-8, their fifth consecutive winning season. They also captured their third straight Eastern Missouri Conference title and their first district championship since 1998.

Now, MCHS is already focusing on next season. The Wildcats will return 12 players, including all-EMO selections Malia Rodgers, Maddy Queathem and Olivia Shaw.

“One of the big things we talked about was what we need to do from this point,” said Basinger, who wrapped up his sixth season as MCHS coach. “We can’t wait until June. All of the little things matter. We have to go to the gym and we have to accept doing the same things over and over again because when you get to a game, you do the same things over and over again. I think this group is hungry. I think this group wants to accomplish something that hasn’t been accomplished here. We’re going to make sure to put the time in and we’re going to do our best as coaches to keep these kids moving in the right direction.”

The Wildcats will lose only Sam Queathem to graduation. Queathem joined the team in January after missing the first half of the season due to an injury she suffered during softball season over the fall. She earned first-team all-EMO honors after scoring 128 points in 13 games.

“I’m proud of myself for coming back this season and making the best of it,” said Queathem, who plans to continue her basketball career at State Fair Community College next year. “I’m even more proud of my team for how far we came this season.”

Rodgers, a sophomore, was the Wildcats’ leading scorer at 15 points per game. She earned Most Valuable Player honors at the Montgomery County Invitational in December. She also received first-team all-EMO notice.

Maddy Queathem, a sophomore, was MCHS’ second-leading scorer at 11 points per game. She tied the school record for most three-pointers in a game with five.

Shaw, a sophomore, earned first-team all-EMO honors after finishing as the Wildcats’ top rebounder at eight boards a contest.

The Wildcats had four juniors, six sophomores and two freshmen on their team.

MCHS began its season on Nov. 22 with a 67-65 win over South Callaway. The Wildcats finished 10-0 in EMO play, extending their conference winning streak to 30 games. They beat Hermann 56-45 in the Class 3, District 7 finals.

The junior varsity team, coached by John Klekamp, had seven freshmen, one junior and one senior. It ended its season on Feb. 18 with a 26-23 win over Wright City.

The Montgomery County Middle School girls basketball team finished with four wins in the eighth-grade level and 10 in the seventh-grade level. Audra Heimer, Miranda Brandenburg and Stephanie Finke were the coaches.