Craig Daily Press / On the road to the Final Four

MCHS girls basketball team travels to Longmont for Sweet 16

Moffat County High School’s Markie Workman drives to the basket in a game against Berthoud. The Bulldogs travel Friday to Longmont to face Greeley West in the girls 4A state playoffs’ “Sweet 16.” Enlarge photo — Photo by Hans Hallgren

By John Vandelinder

March 6, 2008

MCHS basketball vs. Greeley West

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Silver Creek High School,

4901 Nelson Road, Longmont

Call: 720-494-3721

Moffat County

Coach: Craig Mortensen

Record: 21-3 overall, 13-1 Western Slope League

Streak: won 13

Points per game: 65.2

Opposition ppg: 34.3

Leading scorer: Angie Charchalis, 18.7 ppg

Keys to victory:

• Defense. Mortensen said if the Bulldogs can stop Kari Ameling and Lauren Dusin and limit Greeley West from scoring in transition, Moffat County’s chances of a victory increase.

• Play their game. Mortensen said Moffat County needs to play the same style of game it’s played all year and not let the Spartans dictate the game’s tempo.

• Execution. Mortensen said it’s pretty basic: Execution wins ballgames.

Greeley West

Coach: Tory Hanson

Record: 19-5 overall, 12-2 Northern League, East Division

Streak: won 1

Points per game: 63.6

Opposition ppg: 50.7

Leading scorer: Kari Ameling, 16.6 ppg

Keys to victory:

• Stop Angie Charchalis and Markie Workman. Hanson said the Spartans need to limit the points scored by Moffat County’s top two scorers.

• Transition offense. Hanson said Greeley West needs to be able to get easy baskets in transition when the opportunity presents itself.

• Patience. Hanson said the Spartans need to be patient in their half-court offense when the team gets set in its offensive end of the court.

Craig — Sixteen teams remain in the battle for the girls 4A state basketball championship, and by 4 p.m. Saturday, the pool will be cut to four.

Moffat County High School coach Craig Mortensen said the task of advancing to the “Great Eight,” let alone the “Final Four,” won’t be an easy one.

The Bulldogs travel to Longmont on Friday to face off with “Sweet 16” opponent Greeley West.

“They have a pretty good team over there,” Mortensen said. “We are going to have to play well to beat them. They are beatable, but they are also capable of beating us.”

Moffat County bounced the Spartans from last year’s tournament, 60-42.

“We played you guys last year in the second round of the playoffs,” Spartans coach Tory Hanson said. “We have three players back (from that game.) We know that Craig Mortensen’s teams always play hard and are well disciplined.”

Both teams average about 65 points per game, but the difference is on the defensive side of the court.

“Defense is our key,” Mortensen said. “Things are shorter and quicker at this time of the season. We just have to do what we do.”

The Bulldogs are allowing less than 35 ppg; the Spartans, about 50.

Moffat County enters the contest riding a 13-game win streak, while Greeley West lost its last two regular season games — 62-31 at Broomfield and 65-58 versus Thompson Valley — before blowing past Pueblo South High School, 76-59, on Saturday in the Spartans’ first playoff game.

“Broomfield is probably the class of 4A, and they are loaded,” Hanson said. “Against Thompson Valley, we didn’t take care of the ball real well, and our point guard wasn’t feeling well. Those are two good teams that made the playoffs. One is a No. 1 seed (Broomfield), and the other is a No. 4 seed.

“But, at the same time, we learned from both games.”

Hanson said you can’t really judge the difference in the two teams’ level of competition. But they did have a common opponent.

Greeley West defeated Berthoud, 63-57 and 63-54. Moffat County ran by Berthoud on Saturday, 61-38.

“It should be a good game,” Hanson said. “Hopefully it lives up to its billing.”

Mortensen said the Bulldog players are eager for Friday’s 7 p.m. tip-off.

“The girls are ready for this,” he said. “I think they’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.

“They are ready.”

John Vandelinder can be reached at 824-7031, ext. 211, or jvandelinder@craigdailypress.com