After finishing in the runner-up spot by a single point at this spring's Grand Canyon State Games, the Genies set out for Tucson with a goal of bringing home a championship from the summer edition of the statewide games. However, an unfavorable schedule, a stifling hot gymnasium and a tough Arizona Elite squad all conspired to deny the Genies the Gold Medal, forcing the girls to settle for Silver once again. In a puzzling scheduling quirk, the two top teams in the tournament -- the Genies and the Elite -- were placed on the same side of the brackets, forcing the Genies to play their first round game against the Elite. In a game that was nip-and-tuck throughout, the Elite fought back from a second-half deficit to win a 21-18 sqeaker and send the Genies into the loser's bracket, where the girls were forced to play three games in the span of five hours. Not only that, but the final two games -- the tournament's semi-finals and championship games -- were played back-to-back in a gym with no air conditioning, while the outside temperature hovered at 105 degrees. Regardless, the Genies played a solid game in a second round 34-15 defeat of the Phoenix Phenoms. Then, in a game that showed the girl's true grit and determination, the Genies escaped with a 33-27 win over the Arizona Sting, after seeing a 15-point second half lead completely evaporate. However, it soon became obvious that the energy expended in that hard-fought victory, would be difficult to replace in the championship contest with the Elite. The Genies kept it close early and trailed by just two at the half, but the Elite pulled away in the second half for a somewhat misleading 29-10 final margin of victory. For the tournament the Genies were led in scoring by Maylinn (8+3+7+5=23), followed by Cathryn (4+9+5+1=19), Tara (1+4+9+0=14), Cara (1+6+2+3=12), Kelsey (1+4+6+0=11), Kelsi (0+4+2+0=6), Brittany (1+4+0+1=6) and Shannon (2+0+2+0=4). Maylinn also led the team in rebounding with 17, followed by Cathryn (15), Cara (11), Shannon and Brittany (9 each), Kelsey and Tara (8 each) and Kelsi (7). The Genies will now turn their attention to hosting their own tournament with this weekend's 2003 Genies Jamboree! at Mesquite High School in Gilbert.
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2003 Tournament Results
