Despite losing two of its top scorers to graduation, the Montgomery County girls basketball team is setting its sights on accomplishing something it has never done before -- finish with its fifth straight winning season.

“I’m really pleased with where we’re at,” MCHS coach Joe Basinger said. “I feel like the girls are working extremely hard. This group shares the basketball really well. They’re fun to watch when they get going and flowing.”

The Wildcats return eight players from last year’s team that finished 20-7, their first 20-win season since 1998 and their 15th winning record in program history. They are senior Sam Queathem, juniors Carson Flake, Bailey Fischer and Carissa Doyle and sophomores Maddy Queathem, Madi Polston, Malia Rodgers and Olivia Shaw.

“Our goal with this group is to get better every day,” Basinger said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about from day one. Each day we step in the gym, we need to be better than what we were before. This group sat down together and put some goals together. They have some very lofty goals. I think they’re attainable if they take the right approach, stay positive with themselves and with their teammates, accept coaching and get better every day.”

MCHS will have to find a way to replace Renee Finke and Taylor Flake, who combined for 1,739 career varsity points. Finke and Flake attend Central Methodist University and Hannibal-LaGrange College, respectively.

“We lost two very talented players from a year ago,” Basinger said. “But no one person needs to say, ‘I’ve got to be that person.’ We just have to do what we do. I really feel like this would be a group that will have a lot of girls who will average over six points, but maybe not one who averages 15-plus.”

Queathem, a first-team all-Eastern Missouri Conference selection from a year ago, is currently out due to an injury she suffered during softball season in September.

“Hopefully, we’ll get her back at some point in time this year because she’s going to be a huge asset for us,” Basinger said.

The sixth-year MCHS coach said he has high hopes for Carson Flake, who started every game last season.

“I look for her to have a really good year,” Basinger said. “The kid has put in a lot of time in and she has put in a lot of work. She’s our long defender. When we play somebody who is long and can score a little bit, Carson is going to draw that assignment. She does really well with that. She shoots the ball extremely well. She’s just a smart basketball player.”

Rodgers returns as the Wildcats’ point guard after turning in a strong freshman season that included an all-tournament award at the South Callaway Tournament.

“Malia has done a lot over the course of the time that I’ve been here to put herself in a position to have a good year and be successful,” Basinger said. “She’s your prototypical point guard for today’s time. She sees the floor really well. She’s unselfish. But when you need her to score, she can score a little bit.”

The Wildcats will also look to sophomores Claire Cobb and Morgan Koch to help contribute. They helped the junior varsity team finish 16-0 last year.

MCHS began its season on Nov. 22 with a 67-65 win over  South Callaway on the road. The Wildcats will play Clopton in a first-round game of the Montgomery County Invitational at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 29 at Ballew & Snell Court.

The Wildcats are also the two-time defending EMO champions.