So far, Sedona Red Rock High School has found out it can press — and be pressed.

The Scorpions were a minute away Wednesday, Dec. 9, from not only sweeping Phoenix Christian High School but knocking off the defending Division IV state champions on their home court without their starting guards.

But the final 60 seconds without senior Annie Parrella or sophomore Liza Westervelt, who had fouled out, were enough for SRRHS to suffer its first loss to the Cougars, 56-48.

While the boys made relatively easy work of them afterward, 55-35, both Scorpions teams will figure out Friday and Saturday, Dec. 11 and 12, just how well they can handle that pressure through a combined eight tournament games, minimum.

In the case of the Scorpions girls, that test is already being taken at home in their Sedona Hoops Classic.

Girls Basketball

“It’s never been done before, apparently,” head coach Dave Moncibaez said. “Ultimately I think we have a great chance.”

Moncibaez was talking about girls basketball winning its home tournament, which is going into the second of its three days. SRRHS opens at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 11 against Red Mesa High School. The Scorpions play at least three more opponents in their bracket Dec. 12.

“I’m excited for them, because I think they want it,” he said. “It’s like, ‘How are we going to bounce back physically, mentally and emotionally?’”

The loss to the Cougars got emotional, he added, after his team missed 12 free throws, allowing a one-point lead to slip away with one minute to play at Phoenix Christian.

“They got some cheap [foul]s down low, when we were putting them on the line just to get the ball back,” he said. “They can be pressed. We just couldn’t stick with it because of foul trouble.”

Junior forward Sophia Perry ended up leading all Scorpions scorers with 13 points, while Westervelt added 11.

But they couldn’t overcome the absence of their lone senior and point guard, as Parrella finished with 10 points — none of them in the fourth quarter. Her third foul with 5:38 to play in the first half was the girls’ downfall.

“It’s on me,” Moncibaez said. “Annie and Liza both went into halftime with three fouls under their belts.

“I tried to call a time out not to get Annie her third foul, but it didn’t work out that way.”

At the time, the Scorpions had held the Cougars to 11 points and maintained a six-point lead. With Parrella and Westervelt on the bench, the girls got outscored 15-4 over the next five-and-a-half minutes to go into halftime trailing, 26-21.

“We had it in our grasp,” Moncibaez said. “We had it. We can learn from it.”

Although the Cougars maintained their five-point lead through the third quarter, the Scorpions regained the lead late behind contributions off the bench from junior forward Xan Hawes and sophomore guard Joanne Toscano — plus a full night’s work from Perry and her junior counterpart at starting forward, Hannah Ringel, who added seven points.

“We got some great minutes from some girls off the bench,” Moncibaez said. “We kept it alive. They really played tough.”

Toscano finished with seven points behind two three-pointers, while Hawes “played big” on defense and elsewhere off the basketball despite going scoreless.

Boys Basketball

With all 12 varsity players giving head coach C.J. Sells minutes for the first game this season, the boys made short work of the Cougars in the road nightcap.

“We played ugly, but we won,” Sells said. “They weren’t really skilled, and we’re just really working hard. An ugly win is better than a pretty loss.”

Great defense and improved rebounding made the biggest difference as, at least in the estimation of freshman guard Michael Ortega, the Scorpions missed at least 12 layups. Junior Dawson Stevenson led the team in rebounding, and he and Ortega both led SRRHS in the scorebook with 12 points each.

“We just didn’t shoot very well,” Sells said. “We make our layups and our free throws, we win by 40.”

Making just seven free throws in 15 attempts didn’t matter as much against the Cougars, as Ortega scored all of his points on four three-pointers, despite picking up his fourth foul with 3:30 to play.

“If you were to ask me a week ago who the best pure shooter on team was, I would have said Michael,” Sells said. “We got out of it OK. Nobody reinjured themselves.”

A 12-4 first quarter helped, and the Scorpions put the game away with a 19-10 third, allowing Sells to rest freshman Chase Saczalski, junior Winston Cox and a handful of other banged-up Scorpions.

“When we got ahead by 21 at the end of the third quarter, I said, ‘You guys are done,’” Sells recalled. “I’m not sure if we have to get used to playing with each other, but ice up your calf and your ankle and be ready to go Friday.”

Dec. 11 is when the Scorpions play in the Wrangler Cage Classic, beginning at 10 a.m. with Mayer High School. They then face host Wickenburg high school at noon, with a minimum two games of bracket play Saturday, Dec. 12.