When the Montgomery County girls basketball season began in November, the Wildcats had just eight girls on their roster.

But the small turnout didn’t stop MCHS from continuing its winning excellence. The Wildcats finished with their eighth straight winning season after going 15-12 overall and 8-2 in Eastern Missouri Conference play.

“They’ve been absolutely amazing,” said Joe Basinger, who wrapped up his ninth season as MCHS coach. “It’s been one of my enjoyable years coaching. I absolutely loved coaching these girls. I asked the girls at the start of the season to block out the noise, show up every day and work hard. They did that. I think we proved to a lot of people what a group that is small in numbers can accomplish when they just focus on something and work together.”

Senior Aliviah Fischer, sophomores Aubrey Janes, Khloe Kribbs, Kaylee Daume and Reaghan Hemeyer and freshmen Emma Rodgers, Addie Schroer and Kendra Rakers made up the MCHS team which bounced from a season-opening loss to Monroe City to come up one win short of winning a district championship.

“I would love for more people to play, but at the same time, I want kids who want to be there,” Basinger said. “This small group of kids showed people what can happen when you have a group that just wants to be there and wants to work every day.”

The Wildcats finished third at the Montgomery County Invitational Tournament and won a consolation title at the South Callaway Tournament. They also picked up non-conference wins over Moberly and Milan.

In conference play, the Wildcats’ five-year run as champions came to an end. But they turned in another winning record in league play and finished in a tie for second with Elsberry and Louisiana. Their EMO winning streak ended at 59 games with a loss to Elsberry on Feb. 17.

MCHS will lose just Fischer to graduation. Fischer, who plans to play softball at Missouri Baptist University next year, competed with the MCHS basketball program all four years and earned her first all-EMO award this winter.

“She’s dynamite to be around,” Basinger said. “The girls love her, the coaches love her. She’s going to be successful in whatever she does because of the way she approaches things.”

Janes and Rodgers joined Fischer on the all-EMO girls basketball team. Janes was a first-team selection, while Rodgers received second-team notice. Both picked up their first all-league awards.

Janes was named to the all-tournament team at the Montgomery County Tournament and tied a school-record seven 3-pointers in the Wildcats’ win over Gateway Legacy in the seventh-place game of the Hermann Tournament on Feb. 1.

Rodgers started her freshman season on a high note by scoring 12 points with three 3-pointers in the season opener against Monroe City. She was the Wildcats’ leading scorer at the MCHS tournament with 57 points.

The Wildcats clinched their eighth straight winning season by beating North Callaway in their senior night game on Feb. 15. They beat the Thunderbirds again in the district semifinals 12 days later.

Basinger said first-year assistant coach Anna Henke was helpful to the team all season long. Henke is the team’s fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,124 points.

“I coached Anna for three years,” Basinger said. “My first year was her sophomore year. Then to watch her go out, grow up as an individual and a person and come back and give back to our community by teaching and coaching, it’s really cool to see her in a different role and a different light. She has an uncanny ability to relate to kids.”