“I’m feeling grateful and excited because I have a group of girls that have already bought in, and they’re working hard,” SRRHS girls basketball varsity Head Coach Becca Serenity said. “They’re showing up early to put up extra shots, and I feel like they are committed to our culture and they understand what our values are: Transparency, sacrifice, discipline, positive mindset, energy and love. So that’s why I’m excited.

“In addition, I’ve been in Sedona since the end of 2020, and this is where I plan on being, and just having the opportunity to be at the high school [and] help these girls, not just on the court, but off the court, develop into strong women. That is the ultimate goal. Basketball is just a part of their journey, and it could be a [way] for them to express themselves and truly enjoy the game.”

Serenity has been coaching basketball for over a decade, previously holding an assistant coaching position with the Yavapai Community College’s girls team and with the SRRHS girls’ team, while a majority of her head coaching positions have been in club basketball. 

The Scorpions have kept four out of five of their varsity players from last season: Karina Diaz Rodriguez, Maya Esquer- Morales, Maria Saldana and Dalila Pedroza.

Serenity is working hard to rebuild and grow the rest of the team, but has not yet selected her team’s captains.

 “There’s a mixture. Maria and Maya and Dalila played last year, as well as Karina,” Serenity said. Serenity said she is also excited to have Ukrainian exchange student Milana “Mila” Ovcharenko on the team.

“Mila is new. Bless her heart. She’s from Ukraine. We are so lucky to have her and so honored to have her here, and we’re so grateful that she’s here in this safe place of Sedona, of all the places she could have gone in the United States. 

“So Mila is new, and as well as Victoria [Arenas] and Diana [Garcia], they are new to the varsity team,” Serenity said. “Outside of that, the other three have been in the program before, so it’s a solid mixture of new and previous players.”

“All of the girls stand out to me in their own unique ways, especially the ones that are following into our culture and what we’re about, especially Victoria Arenas,” Serenity said. “She’ll be on the JV and the varsity team, but wow, she’s such a strong leader, and the way she embodies our values, she actually won our first Culture Player of the Week Award. 

“As far as on the floor, I’m excited to see Mila develop and grow. This is her first time playing basketball, so I’m excited to see how quick she develop[s]. She’s about 6’2”, so just seeing her on the floor will be exciting.” “As far as Maya and Karina, they’re only sophomores, so the skill development is there,” Serenity said. “They’re going to grow so much, and then I’m really looking forward to seeing the way that Dalila and Maria operate as point guards on the floor and operate as leaders.”

Junior Dalila Pedroza is one of the starting guards on the varsity team. What she lacks in size she makes up in experience and agility. Pedroza has been playing basketball since fourth grade, when she played in the Grasshopper League in Sedona. After that, she joined the Scorpions’ middle school team and has worked up the ranks to become a varsity starter.

Pedroza said her goals for the team are to have a supportive, respectful and inclusive team. However the goals she has for herself are slightly different.

“Being able to connect with my other teammates, just looking up as much as I can and passing the ball,” Pedroza said.

The big challenge Pedroza sees the team facing this year is being able to overcome the tough experiences the team struggled through last year. Outside of school and basketball, Pedroza enjoys playing soccer and hanging out with her friends.

The team’s other starting guard, junior Maria Saldana, is working hard to help get the team a winning season.

“I’m looking forward to getting a winning season so we can go off to playoffs and get a championship,” she said. “It’s possible, definitely, I feel like, if we work hard and do our best to accomplish that, then we can.” 

Saldana does her best to lead the team by motivating them to constantly be better people, as she knows what it feels like to struggle. Last year, Saldana sprained her ankle keeping her out of a few games, however she has recovered and is working hard to make this a winning season.

Ovcharenko is a Ukrainian student who has grown to love Sedona. She has never played basketball before, but despite her lack of experience, her six-foot two-inch tall frame and motivation for the sport has allowed her to become a starter on varsity.

Although Ovcharenko is quickly improving, the biggest challenge she said she has faced so far is the amount of running that basketball requires. 

Ovcharenko played volleyball for the Scorpions, but the increased running for basketball has been a difficult adjustment, she said, although not one she is unwilling to make as she constantly pushes herself during practice.

“When I became a part of [the] varsity team, I was really shocked,” she said. “But now that’s moved me to become [the] best version of myself and also it motivates me because other girls, they played basketball [for a long time], and when they ask me how many years I’ve played it, I tell them, ‘four days.’”

Back in Ukraine, Ovcharenko lived just five miles from the Russian border and constantly heard the sounds of bombs and fighting. Her father is a Ukrainian soldier currently fighting against the Russian invasion. 

Ovcharenko also volunteered at relief concerts in Ukraine; she sang and played the guitar for soldiers recuperating away from the front lines. She has brought that same volunteer experience to Sedona and helps out at Sedona Winds, an assisted living facility in the Village of Oak Creek.

Sophomore Karina Diaz Rodriguez started playing basketball in fifth grade. Rodriguez was a starter on the varsity team as a freshman last season and worked hard to make varsity this season as well.

Rodriguez said she is motivated to improve and her biggest goal for the team is to boost the team dynamic to ultimately win more games. She hopes the team makes it to the state championship this year.

Her personal goals are to improve her shooting and her defense because she believes that’s what the team needs from her the most.

“I just really see us improving this year,” Rodriguez said. “I’m looking forward to all of us getting better and both bonding and getting [better], just becoming stronger as a whole team and hopefully getting wins.”  

Outside of basketball, Rodriguez loves to cook. She first learned how to cook from her mother when she was 9 years old and cooks when her busy school schedule allows it.

Sophomore Maya EsquerMorales started playing basketball in seventh grade. While basketball is important, Morales said, she prioritizes academics before sports.

Despite seeing a big improvement in her ability to stay disciplined, Morales said she still feels she needs to improve her shooting, which she said is the weakest part of her game.

Morales’ goal for the team is to improve together and have very strong team chemistry. On top of that, she wants the team to have the highest team sport grade point average out of all the sports teams at SRRHS.

“The theme for this team this year is ‘together,’ translated to Spanish, is ‘juntas,’ and translated to Ukrainian, is ‘razom,’” Serenity said. “So we always break our huddles with the [words] ‘together, razom, juntos,’ or some of our values. 

“Our team’s mission is to develop champions on and off the court. I foresee every single senior that leaves Sedona Red Rock that plays girls’ basketball going to college and feeling set up for success, and then outside of that, the vision of the program is to be a leading girls’ basketball program that exemplifies excellence, commitment and teamwork, empowering our athletes to achieve success on the court, excel academically and make a positive impact within the community. 

“So if anybody’s reading this and you own a business in the community, or you own a nonprofit, we would love to be involved, because Sedona is a unit, and we are a part of that unit, and happy to help some.” 

The Scorpions’ first home game of the season will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 5:30 p.m. against the Mayer Wildcats.