Craig Daily Press

Craig — Moffat County High School girls basketball coach Craig Mortensen stands in the middle of the gym during practice Thursday.

He doesn’t use a whistle to break up an ongoing play.

He just yells.

“Some time today Angie,” he says loudly. Then, as Ariel Sanchez commits an error while working on the press, “Don’t panic. Be fearless on the court.”

Mortensen is putting the girls basketball through the tough workout in an attempt to motivate the play of his team to a higher level.

The Bulldogs, who are third in the Western Slope League, travel today to compete against Western Slope No. 2 Palisade, in Grand Junction.

“We have to get back in sync,” Mortensen said. “We have to get back to playing the way we know how to play. We have to execute and put the responsibility back on ourselves.”

Moffat County (9-3 overall, 2-1 WSL) suffered its first league loss last week to Glenwood Springs, and Mortensen said he’s trying to put it behind him.

“We played good defense against Glenwood, but we just didn’t hit the shots,” he said. “We have to regroup and start over. We can only control what we do against Palisade. What happened before doesn’t even matter now.”

The season is still early, but playing a Palisade team ahead of the Bulldogs in the standings still means something to the coach.

“Palisade is a strong team,” he said. “We will have to be ready. I know these girls will be, they are an intense bunch.”

Senior Markie Workman is expected to return after missing the past two contests with a recurring ankle injury.

“Her being out gave us a chance to get a look at some other girls,” Mortensen said, “But we missed her. It will be nice to have her back.”

Those are the words Palisade coach Jay Muller said he didn’t necessarily want to hear.

Palisade (5-5 overall, 3-0 WSL) is looking to keep a firm grasp on its No. 2 spot in the league, and Muller said beating Moffat County to stay there will be tough.

“It always means something to beat a team with the caliber of Moffat,” he said. “If you look at the success they’ve had in the past under coach Mortensen, playing them is a good barometer of where we are. We need to win to be a top team instead of a team stuck in the middle of the pack.”

Muller said his team has “a lot of youth off the bench,” and they are “still searching for an identity.”

Despite today’s outcome, Muller said he is emphasizing getting his team in the position to play well at season’s end.

“Regardless of the outcome,” he said. “Tomorrow doesn’t make us or break us. It’s just a basketball game.”