Although winter sports have concluded, the Scorpions made a coaching change early on in the offseason.

Kirk Westervelt will take over as the Sedona Red Rock High School girls basketball coach for the 2019-2020 regular season.

“I wanted to thank both Michael and C.J. for stepping up to coach after Dave Moncibaez stepped down in 2018,” Westervelt said. “We will hopefully pick up where they left off when nobody else would coach,” Westervelt said.

Last season, the Scorpions finished 4-14, good for fifth in the 2A Central region and 31st in the state.

“Their record was not indicative of how good the team was last season,” Westervelt said.

The Scorpions will return two reigning 2A Central all-region players in Stephanie Medel and Emma Beattie.

“They run the floor well and they will be in the starting lineup somewhere,” Westervelt said.
“Emma and Stephanie’s length and versatility allows us to put each of them at multiple spots on the floor.”

Beattie averaged 14 points and nine rebounds last season, both good for team highs for the Scorpions.

Mary Westervelt also returns for Sedona and earned second-team all-region honors during the 2017-2018 season.

“She is a smart player who has played high-end club basketball in her eighth-grade and freshman year,” Westervelt said. “We just have to make sure she is healthy. I know she will not falter in pressure-packed scenarios.”

Four all-state junior high girls will move up to varsity, including Mayra Parra-Landaverde, Leah Pedersen, Helen Westervelt and Macy Valdez.

“We have seven or eight starter-caliber players, so I believe we can be a deep team next year,” Kirk Westervelt said. “We are going to utilize multiple ball handlers, so we should be a solid team passing-wise,” Westervelt said.

Westervelt said he believes the junior high and high school girls should blend in well together next season.

“They all played together last summer so there is some familiarity moving forward,” he said. “The high school girls are familiar with our offense so the players should have no issues at meshing together.”

The Scorpions hope to play an up-tempo style of offense reminiscent of the Phoenix Suns’ “Seven Seconds or Less” offense.

“I would invite teams to press us because we have five good ball handlers,” Westervelt said. “It will speed up the game and definitely work into our favor.”

For the Scorpions, a successful season will come down to their press defense.

“Our success will hinge on how many turnovers and mistakes we can force,” Westervelt said. “It does not matter what our opponent runs, we have to wreak havoc and create opportunities on defense.”

With 12 eighth-grade girls moving up, the Scorpions are hoping to add a junior varsity team next season.

“Hopefully, we can recruit a few other girls to potentially create a freshmen team as well,” Westervelt said. “I would like to add a couple of the girls that played during Mary’s freshmen year as well, if they are interested.”

Westervelt said he plans on utilizing a motion-flex offense that is heavily reliant on ball movement and off-ball screens

“To me, we have seven capable ball handlers who could run the offense, so it is about getting the most out of their talent,” he said.

“I would say we have at least three or four girls who can knock down threes next year,” Westervelt said. “I will never force a girl into a three but teams should not be able to collapse on our ballhandlers.”

“We have a tough schedule next year as we play Page High School, Scottsdale Christian and Leading Edge next year,” Westervelt said. “Each of those schools made the Final Four this season so we have our work cut out for us.”

“I cannot guarantee how many games we are going to win but we will compete every single game,” Westervelt said. “We will play anybody at any court during any time.”

Sedona athletic director Don Burton will serve as an assistant for the team.