MONTGOMERY CITY — A record-breaking 13th Montgomery County Tournament Championship.

That is what Andy Emmons’ Hermann Lady Bearcats were after Saturday afternoon in the championship game at Montgomery County High School against the host Lady Wildcats.

Seeing Montgomery County open the game on a 21-2 run, Hermann got as close as 11 at 26-15 on a Kealie Lane free throw a the 1:31 mark of the second quarter before the Lady Wildcats went on to hand Hermann a 73-49 loss.

“It wasn’t meant to be today,” Emmons said. “Montgomery County played really well and it is usually tough to beat a team on their home court.”

Down 9-0 with 4:19 for the opening quarter, Ava Hughes got Hermann on the board with a bucket at the 4:03 mark of the first period.

After another 12-0 Montgomery County run, Kennedie Witthaus banked in a 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer leaving the Lady Bearcats trailing the host Lady Wildcats 21-5 after eight minutes of basketball.

Two Hughes free throws and a Macy Bader bucket trimmed Montgomery County’s lead to 21-9 with 5:30 until halftime.

Trailing 26-9 at the 2:47 mark of the quarter, a Hughes bucket and a Kimber Hale 3-pointer sparked a 6-0 run.

Montgomery County answered with another 7-2 run leaving the Lady Bearcats trailing 33-17 at halftime.

Hughes led Hermann with eight first-half points while Maddy Quethem canned four 3-pointers giving her a game-high 12 first-half points from the host Lady Wildcats.

Both teams traded baskets throughout the majority of the third quarter until Montgomery County closed the period on a 9-2 run giving them a 56-33 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Nearly doubling their point total to open the second half, Hughes led Hermann with six third-quarter points.

Malia Rodgers led Montgomery County with eight third-quarter points.

Edged 17-16 in the fourth quarter, Hermann settled for second-place hardware following their 73-49 loss to the host Lady Wildcats.

Hughes led Hermann with 16 points, three rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal helping her earn a spot on the Montgomery County All-Tournament Team.

Kealie Lane and Witthaus each added seven points with Lane also grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.

Alivia Christian and Bader each scored five points followed by Karigan Lane and Hale with three points apiece.

Jill Rood added a third-quarter bucket for two points to go along with a Erika Schutt fourth-quarter free throw for one point rounding out Hermann’s scoring against Montgomery County.

Queathem led the host Lady Wildcats with 22 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals while Rodgers added 17 points three assists and three rebounds. Alivia Fisher made it three Lady Wildcats in double figures scoring nine of her 13 points in the second half.

Just to get to the title game, Hermann had to get by a game Wellsville-Middletown Lady Tiger squad in last Wednesday’s championship semifinals.

Nursing a 39-38 lead entering the fourth quarter, Emmons’ Lady Bearcats were able to hold on for a 62-59 victory over their Highway 19 foes to the north.

Hughes led four Lady Bearcats in double figures with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Bader chipped in 15 points and five rebounds in addition to 10 points apiece from Kealie Lane and Hale.

Kealie Lane also added seven rebounds and four steals to her double-digit point total while Karigan Lane recorded a team-high five steals.

Keigan Hall led Wellsville-Middletown with a team-high 15 points.

After traveling to Blair Oaks last night (Tuesday) to face the Lady Falcons, Hermann’s Lady Bearcats will return home tomorrow (Thursday) to face South Callaway’s Lady Bulldogs with action tipping off both nights at 6 p.m.