A Saturday scoring spree was just what the Moffat County girls basketball team needed to set the stage for a conference showdown this weekend.

MCHS girls took a 54-38 win against Rifle in a game that served as a bit of a slowdown after a busy week on the court.

Following their 36-26 victory Jan. 10 over Basalt to start conference play in the 4A Western Slope League, the girls took a 56-53 loss Tuesday in Grand Junction.

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The tight play continued a few days later on the road Friday night when they shut down a comeback by Middle Park, winning 53-49 in overtime.

The latter game was led by a standout performance by seniors:

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• Mena Tucker — Double-double in points and rebounds (11 each), eight assists, seven steals, two blocks

• Caitlyn Adams — 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 steals, 2 blocks

• Josefina Kuberry — 12 points, 2 assists, 4 steals

Back at home the next day, the Dogs lost no momentum against the Bears. Apart from an early free throw by Rifle, MoCo girls led the rest of the game, including a 35-11 halftime tally.

“We’re just trying to keep getting better and using these teams to practice for harder teams,” said junior Bella Vanzo. “I think we’ve all gotten better at making plays and taking advantage of our defense.”

The Bears found themselves more evenly matched against the Bulldog bench later in the game, but a solid foundation by starters kept the advantage on the home team’s side.

With six triples for the team on the day, half of those came from Ariana Buchanan, who led scoring alongside fellow senior Adams, each with 15 points.

Head coach Heath Peper noted that Adams’ Saturday performance was encouraging from the charity stripe as she went six for six on free throws.

“She’s been missing a large percentage of those lately, but she made two free throws to put us into overtime with Middle Park,” he said. “Now it looks like she’s got them all figured out.”

Peper added that the entire squad is getting more aggressive as the season progresses.

“Even being a pretty guard-heavy team, we’re getting more physical down in the post, and that’s making it a lot easier,” he said.

MCHS girls are 6-6 overall as they prepare for a greater contest this coming weekend against Delta, a team that has routinely been a thorn in their sides as far as league rankings.

This will be Peper’s first time leading the program against the Panthers, though he’s well aware of their reputation.

“It starts on Friday, that competition for the league championship. That’s our goal this season,” he said.