It shouldn’t come as a surprise if it takes a little time for the Patagonia High girls basketball team to come together as a cohesive unit.
Coach Michele Shadrick wasn’t able to assemble her full team for practice until Monday, Nov. 11. That’s barely more than a week before the Lobos open their season at this week’s Boyd Baker Tournament at St. Augustine Catholic High School in Tucson.
The Lobos will take on three larger schools in the two-day tournament: Benson at 2 p.m. and Tombstone at 5 p.m. on Thursday, and St. Augustine at 12:30 p.m. Friday.
Four of the 11 players out for basketball were members of the Lobos volleyball team that qualified for the state tournament, so they were unavailable for the first week of practice. All four are expected to play prominent roles, so that’s left Shadrick in catch-up mode in preparing for the start of the season.
But on the bright side, Shadrick is now in her second season as head coach and knows more of what to expect than a year ago, and she’s also had more time to evaluate her newer players.
“I know the girls a little bit better,” she said. “The returning ones, I know what their capabilities are. The newer ones, we’re taking a step back, taking a little bit more time to show them what they need to do.
“We’ve got three new girls, a couple of them have never played basketball at all. They’re learning.”
Shadrick is counting on three seniors to lead the team: all-region point guard Emma Lewton and forwards Brianna Majalca and Valeria Castellanos. All were starters last season, when the Lobos finished 6-11.
“Emma, Brianna and Val, those three are going to be the ones we rely on,” Shadrick said.
Lewton and Majalca were on the volleyball team, as were juniors Amaya Somoza and Viviana Pelayo. Somoza is a newcomer to high school basketball, but Shadrick expects her athletic ability to translate well.
“Amaya hasn’t played (basketball) for a while, but she’s going to be a force,” Shadrick said.
Shadrick also expects significant contributions from Pelayo and sophomore Kassi Orozco. “Vivi, she’s improved her game a lot, and Kassi too,” she said. “They’re listening. They take directions well.”
As always with a small roster, staying healthy will be a key.
“We had a lot of injuries and lot of people that were sick last year,” Shadrick said. “Our goal is to keep everybody healthy. That and to keep the girls together, with the same positive attitude whether we have a game that we lost or a game that we won.”
2025-26 Schedule
Boyd Baker Tournament at St. Augustine Catholic High School in Tucson:
Nov 20: vs. Benson, 2 p.m.
Nov. 20: vs. Tombstone, 5 p.m.
Nov. 21: vs. St. Augustine, 12:30 p.m.
Dec. 1: at San Simon, 5:30 p.m.
Coach Edgar Brown Holiday Basketball Tournament at Williams High School:
Dec. 4: vs. Northland Prep, 11 a.m.
Dec. 4: vs. Williams, 1 p.m.
Dec. 10: at St. David, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 11: vs. Hayden, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 18: vs. Valley Union, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 8: vs. San Simon, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 12: at The Gregory School, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 16: at Baboquivari, 3 p.m.
Jan. 21: at ASDB, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 24: vs. Ray, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 26: at Tombstone, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 27: vs. North Phoenix Prep, 4:30 p.m.
Jan. 29: at Valley Union, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 30: at San Manuel, 3 p.m.
Feb. 2: at Lourdes Catholic, 3:30 p.m.