The Genies captured their first championship trophy of the season with a come-from-behind 36-30 victory over the Temecula Valley (Calif.) Lady Hoops in the finals of the 2003 Las Vegas Spectacular. After finishing with a 2-2 record in pool play against both 5th and 6th grade teams, the Genies met up with the 5th Grade Lady Hoops in the championship contest, a team the Genies had defeated 34-27 in the opening tournament game. But whereas in the first encounter the Genies had built a double digit lead and then held off the California team down the stretch, this time around it was the Lady Hoops who led most of the way before the Genies staged a furious comeback in the game's final minutes to pull out the victory. With the Genies trailing by two, Cara started what proved to be the winning rally by calmly sinking two free throws to tie the game at 30-30. Then Tara converted a twisting, off-balance layup and Shannon followed her fourth steal of the game with her game-high tenth and eleventh points to seal the contest. However, it was a sequence that doesn't show up in the final statistics that may have been the game's most crucial play. Kelsi's hard drive to the basket late in the game resulted in a decisive fifth and final foul being assessed to the Lady Hoops best player. Prior to that, the Genies appeared to have no answer to her driving layups and three-point shooting. However, with her safely on the bench for the rest of the contest, the Genies were able to take control and secure the championship. For the tournament the Genies were led by Tara's 33 points, followed by Maylinn (32), Kelsey (30, including a scintillating 15-point effort in the first round), Shannon (22), Cara (15), Brittany (13), Kelsi (8) and Cathryn (7). Maylinn led the team in rebounding with 32, followed by Cathryn (26), Cara (23), Brittany (16), Tara and Kelsey (15 each), Shannon (13) and Kelsi (8).
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2003 Tournament Results
