craigdailypress.com

You know things are going your way when your opponent scores a point for you.

Such was the case last night when the Moffat County High School girls basketball team hosted the Delta Panthers.

The Bulldogs went 29 seconds before scoring their first points of the game, and seemingly never looked back en route to a 74-28 home victory.

MCHS didn't waste any time in separating themselves from the Panthers as they jumped out to an early 19-0 first-quarter lead.

Delta tallied four unanswered points to close out the eight-minute frame, trailing 19-4.

After a quick hoop from junior Jorgiea Raftopoulos, Delta's Deidra Tyner converted a three-point play to cut the lead in the third, 21-7.

The 14-point deficit from the visitors was short lived as MCHS went on a 12-5 run to enter the locker room with a 39-12 advantage.

Junior Markie Workman led all scorers with 17 points, and was followed by teammates Angie Charchalis and Raftopoulos, who each contributed 16.

The Bulldogs distributed their offense with nine players accounting for the team's point total, whereas Delta had five add up to its 28.

Charchalis got the Bulldogs on the board in the third quarter with a 3-pointer at the 6:20 mark, and a Raftopoulos steal and hoop made it 44-12.

MCHS went on to outscore the Panthers 15-8 in the quarter and headed into the final frame with a comfortable 54-20 advantage.

Even with a sizable lead, the Bulldogs didn't let up and once again outscored their opponents 20-8 to finish off the night.

Veteran coach Craig Mortensen, who received his first technical foul of the season in the fourth quarter after asking the referee about a non-call, said in the end it's all about the girls.

"I was a little worried about our energy out there," he said afterward. "Defensively, we'll have to be able to defend when it comes to the playoffs, but they are doing a lot of good things overall."

MCHS improved to 19-2 overall and 10-2 in Western Slope league play.

"I think we were in more control offensively," Mortensen said. "Our bench play was good and the girls that came off the bench did a good job of scoring. "

Drew Turner can be contacted at 824-7031, ext. 211, or aturner@craigdailypress.com.