It will be a long stretch before both Moffat County basketball teams pack the gym later this winter, but MCHS girls gave the community a little preview Friday of what’s in store in the Doghouse this season.

MoCo girls’ home opener Friday saw a decisive 46-17 win for the Bulldogs over the Aspen Skiers in what is a largely new makeup of the sidelines.

A new coaching staff this season is headed by Mike Fraher with assistant coaches Jennie Schnackenberg and Madison Enney.

Fraher, hired for the role in October, said he has emphasized fundamentals since taking over the program.

“I mostly want them to love the game of basketball,” he said. “That’s always the most important part.”

His experience in the sport stems from his time in high school in Sidney, New York

“I was the sixth man my senior year in upstate New York on a team that went to the state semifinals and had a great coach there,” Fraher said. “I’ve been coaching AAU boys for a while and did some coaching for the boys at Craig Middle School. This age group is a lot different, and in a lot of way, high school girls listen a lot better, plus a high school game is always different from the middle school level.”

Fraher’s daughter is a freshman on the Bulldog C-Team. This year’s roster is a mix of returning varsity talent with quite a few new faces at the top tier.

“Very little experience for a lot of them in varsity,” he said, adding that his players who have gotten a spot on the varsity squad have stepped up well.

Senior Mia Montanez put up the first Bulldog bucket of the winter with a free throw that kicked off a lead that lasted the full game against the Skiers, though not without some moments of concern.

Jae Paisley Jenison rolled her ankle seconds into the match, while fellow junior Ayva Medina likewise sat out most of the first half with a bloody nose.

“I broke it during softball season, and now it just bleeds a lot ore when it gets hurt,” Medina laughed.

Both girls were back on the court in the third quarter to contribute to the Bulldog scoring spree, with Medina leading the tally for the night with 15 points in her first varsity outing.

“That’s the most scoring I’ve ever had,” she said. “I was getting a lot of good passes under the basket, that was the whole thing.”

Senior Bella Vanzo was right behind with 14 points, with six for junior Nichelle Burke.

The W over Aspen is one that sets a good tone for the weeks to come, though Fraher expects the upcoming Demon Invitational this week, hosted by Glenwood Springs, to be a better measuring stick.

“We learned a lot of stuff in this one, did some things really well and also found out what we need to work on,” he said. “Mostly we got some of the jitters out of our system and remembered what it was like to play a basketball game. It’s been nine, 10 months for a lot of them since they’ve been out there, so working all that out and getting some confidence was great.”