It was a rough night as the Sedona Red Rock High girls basketball team fell to rival Camp Verde 47-34 on Friday, Jan. 18.
With the loss, Sedona falls to 2-11 this season.

Scorpions freshmen Emma Beattie and Hannah Lanchbury led Sedona with eight points each.

Five different Scorpions players registered at least six points on Friday night.

Last time the Scorpions and Cowboys played, Camp Verde defeated Sedona 55-11 on
Dec. 21.

“We played hard tonight because we knew that if we didn’t match Camp Verde’s intensity, then a repeat of the first game could have occurred,” Sedona coach Michael Sells said. “All in all, we had a good fight tonight.”

The Scorpions are currently sixth in the 2A Central region at 1-7.

Camp Verde center Jacy Finley led all scorers with 20 points on Friday.

“Jacy was the determining factor tonight. She is tough to guard and racked up a lot of offensive rebounds,” Sells said. “They were able to get a lot of second-chance points off the opportunities she created.”

Finley is averaging 10.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks and earned 2A Central first-team honors last season.

“Our defense was initially good enough at times but her offensive rebounding killed our defense tonight,” Sells said.

Camp Verde and Sedona each opened the game in zone defense with neither team getting into a groove in the first quarter.

After one quarter, Sedona trailed Camp Verde 9-4.

“We did not get a lot of steals but our press defense did speed up Camp Verde a bit and make them uncomfortable,” Sells said. “Camp Verde turned it over themselveskind of unforced, which is all we wanted to do.”

After both teams exchanged baskets, Sedona found its groove as Beattie converted a layup and cut Camp Verde’s lead to 15-13.

The Cowboys answered back with a 7-3 run and led Camp Verde 22-16 at halftime.

“Over the last few weeks we have been working on our middle girls getting back into the press quicker,” Sells said. “We are retreating a lot better than at the beginning of January and we have cut down on allowing easy buckets.”

Sedona struggled to start the third quarter as Camp Verde led Sedona 35-16, prompting a Scorpions timeout.

The Scorpions would cut Camp Verde’s lead to 13 points and trailed the Cowboys 36-23 after the third quarter.

Sedona made one last comebackattempt in the fourth quarter and engineered a 16-2 run, shrinking Camp Verde’s lead to 38-32 with five minutes remaining in the game.

Camp Verde’s defense held strong in the clutch and kept the Scorpions to two points to preserve the 47-34 win.
Despite the loss, Sedona still has an opportunity to reach the postseason.

With five games remaining in the season, Sells said he believes the Scorpions must win three to earn a shot at the postseason.

“Northland Prep and North Pointe Prep are games we can win while the remaining opponentshave higher ranks but are beatable.” Sells said. “I told them that if we play with the energy and confidence that we did tonight then we can compete in games.”

“Stephanie and Emma are learning a little bit quicker than everyone else,” Sells said.

“Emma is just go-go-go, she is tough to guard and did well defensively in our press,” Sells said. “I move Emma around a ton in our zone defense and she did well.”

Sells also said he believes the Scorpions’ improved ball movement has led to better offensive execution.

“One of my pregame keys was our passing and we did a solid job at that aspect tonight,” Sells said. “I told them we needed to pass the ball more instead of dribble and it led to more open shots on offense.”

Sedona returns to the court on Wednesday, Jan. 23, when the Scorpions face Scottsdale Christian Academy.

The Scorpions’ next home game is Saturday, Jan. 26, when Sedona hosts Glendale Prep Academy.

Tipoff is at 3:30 p.m.

Sedona’s final home game of the season is Friday, Feb. 1, when the Scorpions host Northland Prep Academy.

Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m.