The Genies U11 team entered the 2004 Arizona Thunder Tip Off fully expecting to win the tournament in dominating style. So when the team surprisingly dropped its first-round matchup to the Phoenix Phenoms Friday night, they could have felt sorry for themselves or made excuses. Instead, the team rallied together, never lost confidence, and vowed to come back through the loser's bracket to capture the championship. And that's exactly what they did. Starting with a 31-22 win over the Arizona Elite, the Genies proceded to win five straight games in the span of 24 hours, several in dramatic come-from-behind fashion. Trailing the Arizona Sting by as many as 10 points, the Genies fought back to forge a tie late in the game. Then, with just 15 seconds remaining, Cara converted the game winning basket off a perfectly executed inbounds play for a 37-35 victory. On Sunday, the Genies avenged their earlier loss to the Phenoms with a solid 52-44 victory to earn a berth in the semifinals against the host Arizona Thunder. There, the Genies again trailed, this time by five at the half, before a pair of three-pointers by Kelsi helped pull them to within one. With less than a minute to go, Tara's steal and subsequent layup put the Genies up for good. Amber's two clutch free throws with seven seconds remaining sealed the 38-35 win. Finally, in the championship game against the DFAC Falcons, the girls -- led by a scintillating 22-point performance by Cecilia -- overcame a seven point deficit with six minutes to go as the Genies won 36-33. The Genies 5-1 tournament performance lifted their overall 2004 record to 20-2. For the tournament the Genies were led by Cara with 52 points, followed by Cecilia (46), Ashton (34), Tara (32), Amber (24), Kelsi and Alyssa (10 each) and Alexis (9). Ashton led the team in rebounding with 41, followed by Cara (36), Cecilia (34), Tara (19), Amber (16), Alyssa (13), Alexis (9) and Kelsi (8). The Genies U10 team also participated and dropped their two games against the Arizona Elite (26-12) and Arizona Thunder (44-12), as well as an exhibition contest with the Thunder 11's (33-10). However, the girls were rewarded for their hard efforts with individual third place medals. For the tournament the U10's were led in scoring by Natalie with 10 points, followed by Candice (7), Shadora (6), Elysia (5), Morgan (3), Elizabeth (2) and Chemiah (1). Ashlin also contributed defensively, while Rebecca and Kelly were sidelined with injuries.
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2004 Tournament Results
