Last summer, six members of the Montgomery County girls basketball team prepared for the 2021-22 season by playing in a youth traveling league.

Claire Cobb, Morgan Koch, Madi Polston, Maddy Queathem, Malia Rodgers and Olivia Shaw – all sophomores at MCHS – formed a squad called the Krispy Kitties. The team was coached by Rodgers’ father, Chris.

“It was just fun,” Shaw said. “We went and played tough teams and we played well. We won quite a few tournaments.”

Shaw said playing during the summer really helped all of the players get ready for this winter.

“Summer is when you go and have fun and get loose and just do your thing,” Shaw said. “Then, it gets you all ready for school ball because when you do that for school ball, you’re unstoppable.”

Now, the sophomores are looking to help the Wildcats become unstoppable in Eastern Missouri Conference play this winter. After beating Bowling Green 43-8 on Jan. 18 at Ballew & Snell Court, MCHS is 3-0 in league play.

The Wildcats are looking to win their third straight conference title and their seventh in program history. The last time MCHS won three EMO championships in a row was in 1991-93.

“It will be amazing,” Shaw said. “Three times in a row, that will be great.”

With the win over Bowling Green, the Wildcats extended their conference winning streak to 23 games. They haven’t lost an EMO contest since 2019.

MCHS won its three league games this season by an average margin of 27 points. The Wildcats began their conference season on Dec. 13 with a 49-30 road win over Silex. Four days later, they nailed 11 three-pointers in the 58-30 win over Wellsville-Middletown at home.

The Wildcats had an all-sophomore starting lineup in Cobb, Koch, Queathem, Rodgers and Shaw in their win over Bowling Green. Rodgers led the way with 12 points, followed by Queathem with 10, Koch with six, Shaw with five and Cobb with four.

“I really enjoy getting a win in conference games,” Cobb said.
The Wildcats were scheduled to play a conference game against Wright City on Jan. 20, but it was postponed due to COVID-19 issues and it will be made up at a later date.

MCHS’ next conference game will be on Feb. 1 against Van-Far at home. Van-Far is in second behind the Wildcats in the league standings at 3-1.

The Wildcats also have Clopton (Feb. 3), Mark Twain (Feb. 8), Louisiana (Feb. 10), North Callaway (Feb. 12) and Elsberry (Feb. 15) remaining in their EMO schedule.

Cobb, who scored 12 points with three 3-pointers against W-M, is looking to help the Wildcats celebrate another EMO title in her first year in varsity. If that happens, she will be playing in her third EMO championship team. During the fall, she helped the volleyball and girls cross country teams capture conference crowns.

“We can accomplish a lot if we put our minds into it and work as a team,” Cobb said.

Shaw, who also was a member of the volleyball and the girls cross country teams, said she hopes her basketball team continues its winning ways as the season comes down to its final month. The Wildcats took a 9-5 record into their first-round game against Battle in the Hermann Tournament on Jan. 24.

“We started off strong,” Shaw said. “Then, we had our little bumps on the road. But we talked about it and we worked harder in practice. Now, we’re back up and we’re feeling better than ever.”