When the Camp Verde High School girls basketball team reached the final of the 19th annual Yvonne Johnson Memorial Shoot-Out on Dec. 30, it had already surpassed head coach Mark Showers’ expectations.
In a repeat matchup from just 25 hours earlier, the Cowboys fell to the Lobos of Many Farms High School 46-22 to take second place in the tournament.
“I told the kids after the third game that they exceeded my expectations, so whatever happens at this point to me is frosting on the cake,” Showers said. “Because to be perfectly honest I didn’t think we were going to be able to get into the championship game, so I think the kids did a nice job of putting themselves in a position and competing.”
Showers’ notion that they might not reach the final is not unfounded; he starts three underclassmen at key positions, and with that comes inexperience and, naturally, mistakes.
When the Cowboys beat the Lobos, 57-48, they shot eight for 19 from three-point range
and 19 for 43 overall from the field.
“When we beat them that first day we caught them completely by surprise,” Showers said. “They didn’t think we were going to be able to compete and we did.”
This time around Many Farms was prepared for Camp Verde’s outside shooting.
It communicated the movement and location of the Cowboys shooters and increased the pressure, especially on the ball. The Lobos prevented open looks from distance and collapsed on the inside, forcing either a bad shot or a turnover.
In the first quarter Lobo senior forward Stephanie Teller opened a 9-3 lead off two three-pointers while the Cowboys shot one for eight from the field.
Camp Verde sophomore guard Hope Ontiveros cut the lead to four to start the second, but just as it did the night before, Many Farms controlled the boards.
It compounded eight second-chance points with its physical style of play and more prepared defense
to lead 24-11 at the break.
“Definitely think we struggle rebounding, we don’t pay attention, we don’t get out there,” senior guard Raiven Alvey said. “Offensively I think we were trying to do everything we could, we just weren’t having a game.”
Showers said that physical play has to be matched to succeed, which is difficult with a young team.
“Many Farms and most teams in the north play a very physical brand of basketball and if you’re not able to be strong with the ball and go the basket then you’re in trouble, and we were not able to go strong to the basket,” Showers said. “You have to have seasoned players to be able to play that style of basketball and be able to compete.”
He highlighted senior forward Kayla Hackett as a bright spot in that sense, as she was aggressive with the ball, but the Lobo defense neutralized any threat. They also continued to force turnovers.
“It has a lot to do with how young we are, some of the players don’t realize that we have got to forget about everything and keep pushing and moving forward,” Alvey said.
Many Farms extended its lead to 36-14 after three and added another 10 to reach the final score.
Ontiveros and Hackett earned All-Tournament honors for Camp Verde as well as Teller and senior center Shalaya Slim for the Lobos.
The Cowboys opened section play on Friday, Jan. 6, beating Glendale Preparatory Academy 48-37, and followed up with a game against Sedona Red Rock High School on Jan. 10, but results were unavailable at press time. They next play Friday, Jan. 13, at 5:30 p.m. at home against Paradise Honors High School.
