Playing "up" has never been a problem for the Genies. Despite having no sixth graders or 12-year-olds, the Genies have always been competitive with the older teams that populate the U11 division. However, being the youngest and least mature of the local U11 club teams, the question has always lingered: "how would the girls fare if they played against kids their own age and grade?" The answer, as proven out over the past weekend, is "quite well, thank you." The Arizona Sun Hoops Special was the Genies first "grade-based" tournament of the year, and as such, the Genies were paired only against other fifth grade squads. The results were noticeable. In their first round game the Genies built a 22-2 halftime lead against the Phoenix Phenoms, one of the better local fifth grade teams, before cruising to a 33-9 win. Then, in a second round matchup that determined the winner of Pool B and a berth in the championship brackets, the Genies dispatched the Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) Rain by a score of 39-22. That set up a showdown with an Arizona Elite squad that had lost only one prior tournament game this season to an Arizona team. However, the Genies jumped all over the Elite, raced to a 20-point first-half lead, and coasted to a 31-13 victory. The Genies championship game opponent was the NJB Stars from Southern California. Boasting a 5' 8", 175 lbs. center, the Stars entered the final game having won their previous three games by more than 25 points each. Anyone expecting a blowout in this encounter would be sadly disappointed. The game was nip-and-tuck throughout, with the Stars holding a four point lead at the quarter, a one point lead at the half and a two point advantage entering the fourth quarter. With under two minutes left and the Stars up by six, Maylinn hit a three-pointer from the corner to cut the lead in half. Then, with 45 seconds remaining, Shannon intercepted a pass and streaked in for an acrobatic layup to pull the Genies within one. Finally, with just 11 seconds remaining, Tara stole a pass and drove for a potential winning layup. However, a foul called against the Stars as she attempted to get off the final shot, was ruled to be non-shooting and instead of two free throws the Genies were left having to inbound the ball under their own basket. A last second shot failed to drop and the Genies were left with their fourth runner-up finish this season. For the tournament the Genies were led in scoring by Shannon (3+10+6+6=25), followed by Tara (5+4+9+6=24), Kelsey (10+8+3+3=24), Maylinn (8+8+2+4=22), Cara (3+5+1+5=14), Cathryn (3+2+3+6=14) and Kelsi (1+2+7+2=12). Cara led the team in rebounding with 40, followed by Maylinn (39), Cathryn (25), Kelsey (21), Tara (20), Shannon (20) and Kelsi (7). The Genies will play in this week's Grand Canyon State Summer Games, before concluding the 2003 tournament schedule the following week at the NJB Las Vegas Spectacular.
Results:
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2003 Tournament Results
