Junior forward Katie Adams said there’s nothing like a victory over rival Camp Verde High, just a few minutes after her Sedona Red Rock High girls basketball team beat the Cowboys at home Tuesday, Dec. 9, 52-41.

Junior forward Katie Adams said there’s nothing like a victory over rival Camp Verde High, just a few minutes after her Sedona Red Rock High girls basketball team beat the Cowboys at home Tuesday, Dec. 9, 52-41.
There was nothing like her will to win either, scoring 28 points and pulling down 12 rebounds, recording one assist and two blocked shots in the victory for Sedona.
“There’s a first time for everything. There’s nothing like beating Camp Verde. We came out confident and wanting to show what we can do,” Adams said.
It is the first time Sedona has beaten Camp Verde since the 2004-2005 season, when they did it at home in overtime back when the Cowboys were in the 3A-West region.
Now a 2A conference school, Camp Verde has recorded three straight 20-plus win seasons including a trip to the state finals.
In the first quarter the Scorpions jumped out to a 14-2 lead, applying pressure to a Cowboy team known for doing the same to other teams they play throughout the season.
Sedona ended the quarter up 17-4 as the fans who came to see their favorite team play couldn’t get enough of what their Scorpions were doing to cross-valley rival Camp Verde.
In quarter number two, Camp Verde began to figure out how to break the stingy Scorpion press and scored 17 points to Sedona’s 18, making it a 35-21 game at the half.
With the third quarter under way, Camp Verde started to make their comeback by going on a 14-5 run led by freshman Lila Hickey who was fouled on a play and was awarded the basket making it a 40-33 game.
Hickey made the free throw to pull her Cowboys within six at 40-34 with 2:29 remaining in the third.
Sedona found a way to score again, making it a 42-35 game, but junior guard Ashley Lo Duca fouled a Camp Verde player as time expired, putting Camp Verde on the line and giving Lo Duca her fourth foul on the night.
Camp Verde hit one of two free throws and it was a 42-36 lead for the Scorpions heading into the fourth.
Lo Duca certainly made up for her mistake by scoring five points and pulling down five rebounds in a valiant effort against the Cowboys.
The fourth quarter started off with senior point guard Breanne Cunningham stealing a pass and going for a layup to give her Scorpions a 44-36 lead.
Momentum began to shift back over to Sedona’s side of the court as they finally subdued Camp Verde’s comeback run.
Or at least they thought so.
Junior guard Rita Clancy unfortunately fouled out with 6:04 to go in the game and the Scorpion offensive flow was never the same.
Clancy left the game with 11 points and four rebounds.
Sedona was up 46-38 at the time, but Camp Verde brought the score within five points at 46-41 with 2:55 to go.
The Scorpions had backed out of their full court pressure defense for the first time all game, which might have helped them save their energy for the final few minutes.
“They were finding ways to beat it, so we backed off,” Sedona head coach John Cunningham said.
Nerves began to creep up within the fan base sitting in the stands, but the Scorpions would not falter on this night.
Sedona found a way to get a couple of buckets over the next 2:23 to make it 50-41 with 32 seconds to go in the game, and Adams sealed the deal with two free throws to give Sedona a 52-41 victory.
“I think we’re working better together every game,” Breanne Cunningham said.
With the victory, Sedona improves to 5-2 [0-0, 3A-West] overall on the season, with a home game against Monument Valley High coming up Saturday, Dec. 13.
Tip off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Fountain Hills Title
Despite Sedona’s 0-2 [0-0, 3A-West] start to the season, the Scorpions traveled south and played in the Fountain Hills Invitational tournament this past weekend.
For the first time since Cunningham took over as head coach, the Scorpions took home a first place trophy, winning the Fountain Hills Invitational and going 4-0.
“We won the tournament because our defense stepped up and played great,” Cunningham said.
Sedona allowed only 112 points in the four victories, an average of 28 points per game.
The Scorpions, however, scored 152 points in the tournament, an average of 38 points per game.
On Friday, Dec. 5, Sedona beat Notre Dame Preparatory 37-25, then went on to beat Fountain Hills High, 33-17.
On Saturday, Dec. 6, Sedona beat Cortez High in the semifinals by the final score of 36-27, going on to beat Copper Canyon High in the championship, 46-43.
It is believed this is the first regular season tournament championship for the girls basketball program at Sedona in school history.

Brian Bergner Jr. can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 131, or e-mail bbergner@larsonnewspapers.com