It felt hotter in the gym than it did outside. Even the rising Sedona temperatures on this late June evening couldn’t compare to the musty, grueling conditions inside the confines of the indoor basketball courts at Sedona Red Rock Jr./High School.
As six Sedona girls basketball players — three new, three returning — wiped their sweat during off-the-dribble shooting drills, head coach Kirk Westervelt dug into his encyclopedic arsenal of “coach speak.”
“Championships can’t be won in the summer,” he said, borrowing from Syracuse University men’s basketball coaching legend Jim Boeheim. “But they can sure as heck be lost.”
These summer workouts come with a sharper edge than most. The Scorpions began voluntary practices with a feeling that’s become all too familiar. They finished as state runner-ups for a second-consecutive year. They lost to Pima in the 2A Conference State Championship Final by just 2 points both times.
This time, the loss translated to a laser focus for the returning players. The presumptive starting lineup returns junior to-be Rachel Roderick and incoming seniors Helen Westervelt and Annabelle Cook. Another senior, Leah Pedersen, is likely to be the sixth player off the bench, receiving heavy rotational minutes.
But that leaves two spots to fill. Two seniors join the three returners in the starting lineup: Kiara Valles, a transfer from Mingus Union, and Hanna Burt, coming from St. Johns.
While they lack the need for revenge against Pima, they carry their own chips on their shoulders.
A Redemption Arc
“I wish I moved here sooner,” Valles said, with a look of relief.
Valles played her first two seasons at Mingus Union in nearby Cottonwood. She expected to play there her entire high school career. But ultimately it wasn’t her call.
Mingus cut Valles from the varsity squad heading into her third year.
She spent most of that day locked inside her bedroom, shedding tears to the idea that it was over. No more practices. No more bus rides with the team. No more basketball.
Her father, who she calls a “huge part” of her life, basketball or not, came into her room to console his distraught daughter. Later that night, the two were in the gym, practicing her shot for over two hours.
That feeling of rejection was a wake-up call. Now, Valles is out to set the record straight every time she steps on the court.
“I just want to prove a point,” she said. “I’m not this bad player that they made me feel like … I’m proving all of them wrong right now.”
Coach Westervelt, who expressed his confusion regarding Valles’ cut from Mingus, describes her as “fearless.” That much was clear over the weekend in Flagstaff at the NAU Team Camp.
She’s a skilled dribbler that can score from the perimeter or from the paint, despite her smaller height of about 5-foot-4. In one of the games over the weekend, she made five three-point shots. On defense she’s a “pest,” similar to how Westervelt describes Cook. Just like her new teammates, Valles is ready to prove her worth on the court this fall.
From One Contender To Another
Hannah Burt’s been there before. Just after Sedona secured it’s second-straight championship game appearance in late February, St. Johns took on Pima in a semifinal matchup. Pima took care of business with a 51-27 win, but Burt led St. Johns with 11 points in the loss.
Now Burt’s basketball journey takes her to red rock country. She says her family moved to Sedona out of love for the area, but the basketball side of it has its perks too.
“I have a lot more opportunity here,” she said. “I feel like I have a lot more potential of winning state here and playing in college.”
When transferring from one contender to another, Burt felt right at home. Once again she’s surrounded by a winning culture and dedicated players. She realizes the hole left by Stephanie Medel, the Scorpions’ former defensive juggernaut, and she feels her game slots in perfectly with the Westervelt philosophy.
“I like the team a lot so far,” she said. “It’s been pretty easy to adapt so far … I feel like I already have my role and my place on the team.”
