While the local rivalry remains intact between the girls basketball teams of Sedona Red Rock and Camp Verde High Schools, the two are no longer 2A Central Region rivals, with the Cowboys moving to the 3A conference. That meant that the game between the two teams on Saturday, Feb. 20, was the Scorpions’ lone chance this season to earn their first victory over Camp Verde in three years. They did not waste that opportunity, winning 55-38.
The win was especially satisfying for the three juniors on the Sedona team — guards Nyah Valdez and Hannah Lanchbury as well as forward Stephanie Medel, who endured a 55-11 loss to the Cowboys as freshmen.
“It’s just super exciting — we’ve all played with Shelly and Addy in club ball and we know they’re really good players,” Valdez said, referencing Camp Verde juniors, forward Shelly Warfield and guard Addy Herrera. “It feels good to get a dub against another good team and it’s just a relief. We’ve heard the 11-55 for the last two years. It’s nice to get a win against our rivals.”
The victory also gave Medel the chance to exorcise a demon from one of last season’s games, that ended with her missing a short putback shot off of an offensive rebound that would have won the game for Sedona at the buzzer.
“It’s a relief, honestly,” Medel said. “I’ve heard that millions of times. It’s been in my head. It’s haunted me, 24/7. But now that we actually beat them and I don’t have to go back to that memory because I know that we did a lot better in this game, it does make me feel a lot better. I’m so happy that we had the patience for two years to beat them. I think patience just brings us to good things.”
While a perfect ending to Saturday’s game for Medel might have been sinking a buzzer beater, that was not necessary. The Scorpions controlled the game from the outset, taking a 16-4 lead after the first quarter and a 35-9 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Cowboys did close the deficit some in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter, but the final outcome of the game was never in doubt.
“Camp Verde is a scrappy, blue collar team,” SRRHS coach Kirk Westervelt said. “I was born and raised there; I know what they’re going to bring. I told our girls that we need to come out with energy and I think it was the best start that we’ve had against a decent team.”
The balance in scoring was ultimately the difference in the game.
Sophomore guard Annabelle Cook led Sedona with 15 points, including 10 in the second quarter, which Sedona won 21-5 to put the game away early. She was joined in double digits by freshman center Rachel Roderick and Medel, who finished with 11 and 10, respectively. While Warfield matched Cook’s 15 points, no other Camp Verde player had more than seven and Herrera was limited to a single three-pointer.
“We have such a selfless team,” Lanchbury said. “We have great shooters and we take good shots. But we’re learning to get it on the inside and drive it when we have people like Steph and Rachel down low and using that for our advantage. I’m just really grateful. We are really and truly a family. And I think the selflessness is what brings us all together.”
As the Cowboys are not a conference or region opponent, the Scorpions 7-0 record in the 2A Conference and the 2A Central Region were unchanged. The win over Camp Verde did move Sedona to 10-0 overall.
While defeating the Cowboys brought the Scorpions a sense of relief, the next two games are far more important. On Tuesday, Feb. 23, Sedona will host Valley Lutheran, who is 11-0 overall, 9-0 in the 2A Conference and 8-0 in the 2A Central Region. And, in a weird scheduling quirk, the two teams will be back at it on Wednesday, Feb. 24, in Phoenix.
The Scorpions and Flames are both all but assured of making the postseason. But unlike last season, every playoff game until the state finals will be played at the home gym of the higher-seeded team. So, a pair of wins over Valley Lutheran could mean as many as three home playoff games for Sedona, while a pair of losses could mean nothing but road games.
The results of both games will be covered in the Friday, Feb. 26, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.
After the Valley Lutheran games, Sedona will celebrate senior night on Friday, Feb. 26, against Northland Prep and has its last scheduled game of the season on Monday, March 1, against Glendale Prep. All remaining games are scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.
An additional makeup game with North Pointe Prep on Tuesday, March 2, could be necessary if the Scorpions and Flames split their two games. If either team wins both, that will not be necessary. Westervelt feels that sweeping both scenarios, as well as a split, are very much in play.
“I like our chances against anybody,” Westervelt said. “Valley Lutheran are winnable and loseable games and Glendale Prep is a winnable and loseable game. We’re not that great a team but we can win all three. We can’t turn the switch off and on. It has to be on all the time. The season has been building up. It’s crazy with the pandemic. But we’re undefeated. That’s all you can ask for, right?”
