While Sedona Red Rock High School’s girls basketball team got to have an offseason workout program, COVID-19 restrictions kept it from being as in depth as it normally would be. That’s the bad news. The good news for the Scorpions is despite that, there are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the upcoming season.
One of the reasons for optimism is that, even in its limited form, Sedona’s offseason program was more than other teams had. Many teams in the state couldn’t work out at all. Many of those teams are also dealing with the turnover that’s common in high school sports. With Mary Westervelt as the only senior from last year’s team, this year’s Scorpions team will look very similar to last year’s.
Four starters — sophomore guards Helen Westervelt and Annabelle Cook, junior guard Nyah Valdez and junior forward Stephanie Medel — return from the team that reached the Round of 16 a season ago. Another returner is junior guard Hannah Lanchbury, who played a lot off of the bench last season.
“I think it [familiarity] is a huge advantage,” Cook said. “We’re in the gym five days a week and working hard. With the new girls that are rebuilding this year, our future looks very bright.
“It’s really a bummer that the club season got canceled but it’s nice that we obviously all played together last year and with Rachel [Roderick] a couple of summers ago,” Valdez said. “And we have more time to practice now that the season got postponed. So we can make up for that.”
The addition of Roderick gives the Scorpions something that not many teams have — genuine height. At 6 foot 1 inch, she has a height that few girls can match.
Coach Kirk Westervelt has been impressed by not only Roderick’s height but the overall skill that she’s shown.
“Rachel’s been playing lights out this whole summer when we’ve scrimmaged against the boys,” coach Westervelt said. “I finally have my post player. She’s very skilled. Like Helen, she’s ambidextrous. She’s tough as nails. She’s a girl that could be playing D-1 [college] with four hard years. It’s hard work but she has the skill set.”
Last season’s team certainly had some accomplishments. Individually, four players received recognition for their play at the end of the season. Westervelt was honorable mention for the entire 2A conference. She and Valdez were both All-2A Central Region First Team while Medel and the now graduated Westervelt earned All-2A Central Region Second Team honors.
The team was also accomplished on the court. The Scorpions had a winning record, reached the playoffs and showed that they could compete with the best 2A teams in the state. Victories, in those games, however, proved elusive. Sedona held big second half leads in its first game against Camp Verde and the playoff game against San Carlos. But in both cases, they let those leads slip away to more experienced teams. That’s left the Scorpions with a sense of unfinished business.
“We want to play all of the teams that beat us,” Helen said. “We’re ready for January.”
That outlook is shared by her father and coach.
“I feel good about this year, barring any injuries,” coach Westervelt said. “We’re going to be better defensively because we’ve got a rim protector. We’re one year older. And shoot, I’ve got a two-headed monster. Helen and Annabelle are running that point position where we can run Helen off of the wing and Annabelle could be point. We’re going to miss Mary’s leadership and the glue. But I like what I’ve been seeing.”
