Cowboys embrace growth in loss

The No. 5-ranked Camp Verde High School’s girls basketball team did not beat visiting No. 3 Sedona Red Rock High School on Friday, Jan. 26.

For a half there was, though, belief — in the bleachers and on the court — that the Cowboys [14-3, 6-2 Central Region] would beat the Scorpions [11-0, 7-0] for the first time in six games, but ultimately lost 49-34.

“They embraced the challenge. We got beat by almost 30 last time in Sedona, and we pushed them hard this time. The kids were more confident, their press really didn’t affect us at all, which was a huge step forward for us,” Cowboys head coach Mark Showers said. “And then in the halfcourt on defense they just played tough. They went nose to nose with those veteran kids from Sedona, and I’m proud as I can be of my kids. They did a great job.”

Camp Verde took the lead early on when junior guard Hope Ontiveros hit a three-pointer after being fouled. After missing the free throw, the lead was 8-7. Ontiveros hit another, and the momentum grew along with the noise level inside the gymnasium.

The full-court pressure that has been a cornerstone of the Scorpions’ success was not jarring the Camp Verde ballhandlers. Cowboys freshman forward Maya Hedges scored four points inside before Ontiveros drained her third three with less than a minute left in the first.

Red Rock got into foul trouble and was missing easy shots, but senior guard Liza Westervelt responded with a triple of her own to close out the quarter with the Cowboys leading 18-13.

The Cowboys’ lead grew to 22-14 in the second on a bucket by sophomore forward Destiny Dowdle, and six-foot sophomore center Jacy Finley was disrupting the Scorpions close to the basket. Slowly but surely the visitors crept back, then took the lead at 25-24 just before halftime — this time on a three-pointer from sophomore forward Mary Westervelt.

Mary Westervelt hit another triple in the third quarter, during which the Scorpions outscored Camp Verde 16-3. The hosts’ lone basket came on a three from sophomore guard Tanna Decker, and the deficit grew to 41-27.

“We kind of backed off a little bit in the third quarter. I called timeout at one point and said, ‘Listen, you guys backed off and then they started getting a little bit of a lead and then you started rushing. This is a barrier, this is a challenge, are you going to embrace it or say, ‘Oh they’re too good, we can’t handle it’?” Showers said. “And they came out, and they played harder, and we were able to keep them from going further as far as the lead goes.”

Ontiveros hit her fourth shot from beyond the arc at the outset of the fourth, and two Scorpions starters fouled out with more than half of the quarter to go and the Cowboys trailing 45-31. Despite getting into the bonus, Camp Verde ran out of time.

“I think the couple things that challenged them was our confidence and our ability to break their pressure and not give up easy turnovers,” Showers said. “In the first game we threw the ball away, and they got easy baskets off of our turnovers, tonight a couple maybe. It was more of a halfcourt game and unfortunately Mary Westervelt hit a couple of threes and then we had to scramble.”

The Cowboys hosted Paradise Honors High School on Tuesday, Jan. 30, but results were unavailable at press time. A win at Northland Preparatory Academy on Friday, Feb. 2, would seal second place in the Central Region and a berth to the Conference 2A state tournament. The state tournament brackets will be released on Feb. 11 at azpreps365.com.