“I told our kids, this has never happened before and it might never happen again, so we might as well enjoy it while we have the horses.”

So exulted Kirk Westervelt, head girls basketball coach at Big Park Community School, following the Coyotes’ 59-26 rout of Mile High Middle School to capture the Verde Valley Girls Basketball Tournament championship Saturday, Jan. 25.

“We played five games in four hours, so it was taxing on the girls,” he said. “But we’re in great shape. We’re faster than almost all other teams. We got up and down the court and pressed most of the games.”

Because of the number of games in the limited time frame, Westervelt liberally rotated personnel between his “A” and “B” teams in all games — with daughter Liza Westervelt, an eighth-grader, as the go-to guard all season.

“These girls love to compete,” he said. “Any sport — softball, basketball, baseball — they’ll play for me.”

For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Jan. 29, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.