SEDONA — Rachel Roderick scored 14 points, Kiarah Valles chipped in with 11 on three 3-pointers, but Sedona struggled in the fourth quarter, surrendering a 19-5 run to Phoenix Country Day School in a 60-42 loss Friday night.

It is the third straight victory for the No. 4-ranked Eagles (14-2, 2-0 2A Metro), which trailed 15-6 to start the contest but used a 12-2 run to close out the first quarter with a 18-17 lead.

“I know we hang our hat on playing good defense, and when the shots aren’t falling, we just hang around and give ourselves a chance. It’s only a matter of time before we can get that rhythm going on offense,” Phoenix Country Day head coach Sean Newland said about his club’s first-quarter start. “The defense is what won it for us tonight, for sure.”

In the second period, Kimi Cahoon, Rylie Lloyds and Aila Kaibara capped a 23-10 run by each hitting a 3-pointer to put the Eagles up 29-24, but a bucket by Sedona’s Hannah Burt and a 3-pointer by Valles with 3 seconds left in the second quarter tied it at 29-29 before halftime.

Kaibara had 14 points Friday night, tied for the game high with Jadynn Jones, who scored seven of her 14 in the fourth quarter.

Aila Kaibara (14) looks to fake out her defender Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, as Phoenix Country Day School takes on Sedona. (Brian M. Bergner Jr./AzPreps365)

Trailing 41-37 heading into the final period, Phoenix Country Day used a 19-5 run to seal the deal as Sedona players looked out of gas.

“They had a step on us in the fourth quarter. They had a deeper bench. We go six deep, and that’s about it. But that’s not an excuse, they are a tough team,” Sedona head coach Kirk Westervelt said, adding that he addressed fundamentals in the locker room after the loss.

“Three to four possessions [PCDS] had three to four shots, and they had a lot of And-1’s at the basket. Boy, boxing out. We didn’t go to the passes, [we] had a lot of turnovers, lay-ins,” Westervelt said. “Basketball is a great sport, but you still go back to the basics. We weren’t jump stopping on a few of our passes, we weren’t going to the ball with all 10 fingers.”

Westervelt gave kudos to the Eagles, stating he thinks they could go all the way this year.

“I told you from the beginning, Country Day is my preseason pick, and I think we’re next to them. I think they’ll be there. I don’t think there is another 2A team that can beat them, maybe 3A. I think they are that fast,” Westervelt said.

Rachel Roderick goes up for a jump shot against a Phoenix Country Day School defender Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, in Sedona. The Scorpions struggled in the fourth quarter, surrendering a 19-5 run by the Eagles and lost, 60-42. (Brian M. Bergner Jr./AzPreps365)

UP NEXT

No. 5-ranked Sedona (11-3, 1-1 2A Metro), which had won 11 of 12 before Friday night’s loss, hits the road Monday, Jan. 9, to play Veritas Prep. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

Phoenix Country Day, which averages 62.3 points per game, but typically allows just 25.1 defensively, is only three games in of an 11-game January schedule this season. They face Phoenix Christian at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 12.

“January is a long month, we play a lot of games. We’ll learn a lot about ourselves, and going back to the drawing board, we made some corrections,” Newland said. “We can pat ourselves on the back with some of the things we do well, but we have a long way to go. We’re off to a hell of a start, that’s for sure.”

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on Twitter @AzPreps365Brian. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.