MHS - Women's Basketball / December 15, 2022 By Kasey McDowell
Undefeated? Perfect? Unblemished? There are many words to describe the 7th-grade girls basketball team from this year, but what comes to mind for this humble reporter is just plain "awesome". After finishing their season with a 13-0 record, The 7A team topped off their undefeated season the past Saturday and Monday at the Patriot League Tournament. 
The girls faced Ark City on Saturday in game 1 of the tournament and the Cats wasted no time, jumping to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter. The Wildcats went into halftime up 28-4. The girls outscored Ark City in the second half 16-8 and coasted to the 44-8 win. Brae Heckathorn led the girls with 13 points in the game and Kaitlyn Paul finished in double digits with 11 points.
7A 1 2 3 4 Final
MMS 17 11 6 10 44
AMS 0 4 4 0 8
* Brae Heckathorn - 13 pts
* Kaitlyn Paul - 11 pts
* Brittani Peschel - 6 pts
* Juliana Holman - 4 pts
* Emily Davis - 4 pts
* Haylynn Jones - 4 pts
* Halle Ensley - 2 pts
The Wildcats had to wait until Monday for the championship game and they faced Wellington for the chip. The girls were a little nervous and started off a little slow in the first few minutes, but the Cats got their legs under them and took a 9-4 lead in the first quarter. 
The girls had a fantastic second quarter, outscoring Wellington 13-2 to go into halftime up 22-6. Wellington was able to gain some ground in the third quarter, but the Cats still had a 12 point lead going into the fourth quarter. The teams battled in the fourth, both scoring 10 points and the Cats won the Championship game 39-27. Kaitlyn Paul led the Cats with 9 points in the game.
7A 1 2 3 4 Final
MMS 9 13 7 10 39
WMS 4 2 11 10 27
* Kaitlyn Paul - 9 pts
* Brittani Peschel - 7 pts
* Maddy Murray - 7 pts
* Trinity McCabe - 6 pts
* Juliana Holman - 4 pts
* Brae Heckathorn - 2 pts
* Halle Ensley - 2 pts
* Haylynn Jones - 2 pts
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The 7A girls finished the season with a 15-0 record and outscored their opponents 580-161. The girls finished with 445 rebounds, 178 assists, 56 blocks, and an impressive 323 steals. The Cats were led by Brittani Peschel who finished with 151 points and the point guard also led the team with 59 assists. Brae Heckathorn and Kaitlyn Paul finished the season in triple digits with 122 points and 100 points respectively and 91 and 82 rebounds. Halle Ensley led the team in rebounds, steals, and blocks with 99 boards, 74 steals, and 14 blocks.
7A Season Stats:
* TEAM - 580 pts, 445 reb, 178 ast, 56 blk, 323 stl
* Brittani Peschel - 151 pts, 29 reb, 59 ast, 5 blk, 62 stl
* Brae Heckathorn - 122 pts, 91 reb, 9 ast, 17 blk, 30 stl
* Kaitlyn Paul - 100 pts, 82 reb, 14 ast, 10 blk, 30 stl
* Halle Ensley - 62 pts, 99 reb, 32 ast, 14 blk, 74 stl
* Juliana Holman - 61 pts, 28 reb, 37 ast, 5 blk, 68 stl
* Trinity McCabe - 40 pts, 38 reb, 12 ast, 2 blk, 25 stl
* Maddy Murray - 15 pts, 20 reb, 2 ast, 0 blk, 8 stl
* Haylynn Jones - 14 pts, 42 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 16 stl
* Addilyn Williams - 8 pts, 9 reb, 6 ast, 0 blk, 6 stl
* Emily Davis - 7 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl
Not only did the 7A team go undefeated, but the 7B girls also had a perfect season, finishing 13-0 for the season and they outscored their opponents 363-100. The girls were led by Maddy Murray who finished with 101 points, 51 rebounds, and 61 steals. Jocelyn Bauer also led the team in rebounds and finished with 42 points. Addyson Clinesmith was right up there as well with 50 rebounds on the year.
7B Season Stats:
* TEAM - 363 pts, 307 reb, 94 ast, 32 blk, 198 stl
* Maddy Murray - 101 pts, 51 reb, 20 ast, 7 blk, 61 stl
* Addilyn Williams - 55 pts, 21 reb, 18 ast, 1 blk, 38 stl
* Jadea Sheppard - 50 pts, 36 reb, 10 ast, 4 blk, 27 stl
* Jocelyn Bauer - 42 pts, 51 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk, 9 stl
* Emily Davis - 38 pts, 21 reb, 11 ast, 3 blk, 12 stl
* Addyson Clinesmith - 37 pts, 50 reb, 9 ast, 4 blk, 14 stl
* Haylynn Jones - 17 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 4 stl
* Emersyn Reed - 10 pts, 32 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk, 14 stl
* Norma Griffin - 9 pts, 14 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 5 stl
* Peyton Bartel - 4 pts, 21 reb, 10 ast, 4 blk, 11 stl
First-year coach Nicole Peschel really focused on defense with the team and that transition offense resulted in lots of points. "The kids bought into playing aggressive defense from the very beginning of the season and that really helped propel us offensively," said Coach Peschel. "This is a competitive group of kids who pushed one another to get better each day at practice. The best part, they all got along and encouraged and cared for one another. All of those things mixed together resulted in the successful season that we had," said Coach Peschel. Some research needs to be done, but we believe this may be the first time in school history the A and B teams went undefeated.
