There was no escape for Bourgade Catholic High School on Monday, Jan. 25, as it was swept by Sedona Red Rock High School’s boys and girls basketball teams.
Then again, as the 62-51 and 57-22 finals illustrated, there hasn’t been much of an escape for any of the 20 opponents the Scorpions have faced in 2016.
Sedona Red Rock High School’s boys and girls basketball teams flew higher than the Eagles in their doubleheader to savor the rarefied air of mutual top-10 power rankings in Division IV.
The Scorpions remain in position for a sectional title and home bye through the first round of the Division IV state tournament as they prepare to honor their two seniors: point guard Annie Parrella and forward Wyatt Stevenson.
After hosting Kingman Academy in a non-section matchup Tuesday, Jan. 26, both teams conclude the home portion of their schedule with a Friday, Jan. 29, showdown for at least second place in Section I against Hopi High School.
Junior Sophia Perry has stepped up her game for the girls. Friday, Jan. 22, she scored 17 points, hitting seven of seven free throws to carry her fatigued No. 8 varsity to its eighth straight win, 44-41, over Round Valley High School.
Everything was easy after that, as head coach C.J. Sells’ 10th-ranked boys ran the Elks out of Doc Adams Gym, 72-35.
“I think it’s going to be a long, hard road from here on out,” said Perry, who had 19 the night before at Alchesay High School to go with junior forward Hannah Ringel’s 21 and win, 70-58. “We’ve got to push all the way.”
Both teams didn’t get home from Alchesay until after 2 a.m. So rest was all that was on Perry’s mind after the win over the Elks.
“They were neck-and-neck with us after a long week,” she said. “So we really had to rally. It was an important win.”
SRRHS won its ninth in a row and went unbeaten through a brutal stretch of three road games and four others in nine days — and that was prior to their game against a 21st-ranked Bourgade team fighting for its postseason life.
“It was a mental game, for sure,” Perry said. “We really had to push until the end.”
Sells’ 10 players, who all played in the first quarter, had a bit of extra motivation after a 62-51 loss Thursday, Jan. 21, at section leader Alchesay High School.
During the game, Sells said, the team bus was broken into and players’ calculators, iPads, laptops, phones, wallets and other personal items were stolen.
“To come back after our disappointing loss and be able to put that one behind us and move on to the next game — experience is a wonderful thing,” Sells said. “We needed to get energy early.”
From the beginning Jan. 22, Sells showed a variety of defensive looks, including full- and half-court presses.
It did what Sells wanted it to do, spreading the floor for layups and opening the lanes for players like junior forward Dawson Stevenson to drive, then kick out.
Stevenson was, once again Jan. 22, the high-point man with 14, two nights after penetrating the Payson High School defense with the dribble, then feeding sophomore guard Sebastian Morales for the game-winning three-point shot,
“I think, defensively, we’re just playing lights-out,” Sells said. “I guess it takes us 22 games. They were way bigger than we were, but I thought we rebounded well.”
Sophomore Hayden Bruce added 13 points, and junior Winston Cox had 12 after scoring 20 at Payson. It was a game that quickly got away from Round Valley, with SRRHS outscoring the Elks by identical 21-7 scores in each of the first two quarters.
“Pressure is a privilege,” Sells said. “Being in a position where you need to win is a lot better than playing games that aren’t as meaningful.”
For more photos, please see the Wednesday, Jan. 27, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.
