The Montgomery County girls and boys basketball teams went in opposite directions this winter. The girls celebrated their ninth straight winning season, while the boys finished with their first losing season in seven years.

Both teams were eliminated by the Centralia Panthers in Class 3, District 7 semifinal play. The girls lost 46-13 on Feb. 25 at Hermann and the boys fell 55-43 the following day at South Callaway. The girls and boys were seeded fourth in their respective tournaments.

The MCHS girls finished at 17-11, surpassing last year’s win total of 15. The Wildcat boys finished 13-14 after winning 28 games a year ago.

The loss to Centralia in the South Callaway boys district tournament ended the high school basketball careers of nine players – Adrian Combs, Colby Ellis, Chase Queathem, Cooper Sellenriek, Karter Reagan, Wyatt March, Seth Walton, Kenny Johnson and Cameron Knapp. Queathem and Walton played all four years with the squad.

The girls will return many of their players next year as they didn’t graduate any players.

Dustin Figg wrapped up his first season as head boys basketball coach after working as an assistant for three years. The boys team got off to a solid start, placing second in the Montgomery County Invitational Tournament and winning six of its first eight games. After winning the South Callaway Tournament in January, the Wildcats went on a slump, losing eight of their next 11 games.

MCHS began its district tournament play on Feb. 24 with a 63-48 win over South Callaway in a quarterfinal game. The Wildcats’ two-year run as district champions ended with the loss to Centralia in the semifinals.

MCHS’ three-year run as Eastern Missouri Conference champions also came to an end as it finished 5-5 in league play. The Wildcats’ 43-game conference winning streak ended with a loss to Bowling Green on Jan. 20.

One of the conference wins was against Louisiana on senior night on Feb. 13. MCHS beat the Bulldogs 71-60 in double overtime, its first double OT game since 2013.

Combs and March led the way for the Wildcats this season. Combs was named to the Montgomery County all-tournament team, was voted Most Valuable Player at the South Callaway Tournament and was the Wildcats’ lone player on the all-EMO team. March, who was back on the team for the first time since his freshman year, earned all-tournament honors at South Callaway and Hermann and finished as the Wildcats’ top scorer in district play with 30 points in two games.

The Wildcats also had sophomore Jackson Benney on the squad. He was named on the Montgomery County all-tournament team.
The MCHS girls bounced back from an 0-2 start to continue their streak of winning seasons. They clinched a winning season with a victory over Mark Twain on Feb. 10.

The Wildcats also placed third in the South Callaway Tournament and won the consolation championship of the Montgomery County Tournament.

MCHS was led by its dynamic duo of junior Aubrey Janes and sophomore Emma Rodgers. Both players represented the Wildcats on the all-EMO team.

Rodgers scored a school-record 37 points against Van-Far on Feb. 2, breaking the old mark of 36 that was set by Gina Gregory in 1982. She also earned all-tournament honors at Montgomery County, Hermann and South Callaway.

Janes was named to the all-tournament team at South Callaway. She had a 30-point effort against Mark Twain.

The other players on the team were juniors Reese Hill, Kaylee Daume and Reagan Hemeyer, sophomore Addie Schroer and freshmen Abigail Knoepflein, Jordan Finke and Marleigh Gildehaus.