Despite overcoming various hurdles, both Genies clubs made it to the championship game of the Duel in the Desert tournament, but for the first time this season, both also came away on the short end in the title contest. The Genies 10s entered the tournament with just five players available, and as luck would have it, were scheduled to play three games on the first day of play. That’s right: three games in seven hours with no subs. However, instead of worrying about what problems the short-handed situation might present, the five girls – Ashlin Palmer, Candice Bomar, Caitlin Evans, Elizabeth Rudd and Rebecca Rudd – simply went out and took care of business, recording three straight double-digit victories to reach Sunday’s championship game. There, things were looking up with the return of a sixth player (Tessa Smith) and a rematch with the Arizona Elite, the same team the Genies had defeated by 14 points the previous afternoon. But even the return of Tessa was not enough to overcome an abundance of turnovers and missed scoring opportunities and the Genies fell 24-21. For the four game tournament the Genies were paced by Elizabeth Rudd with 32 points and 15 rebounds, she was followed by Palmer (32/9), Rebecca Rudd (30/20), Bomar (21/4), Evans (9/12) and Smith (4/5). The Genies 12s, playing in a combined 12- and 13-year-old division, also started things off on a high note with solid victories over a pair of U13 squads (North Country Spirit 13s and Arizona Elite 13s) to reach Sunday’s championship. Their opponent there was the Elite 12s, a team the Genies had defeated eight of the nine times they had met in 2005. However, the Genies usual sure-handed shooting touch deserted them, and the team struggled to score throughout the entire contest, eventually falling by the count of 24-17. For the tournament the Genies were led by Ashton Jones with 26 points and 19 rebounds, she was followed by Shana Davis (16/11), Cara Bomar (14/7), Tara Rickenbach (12/6), Mackenzie Flannigan (10/4), Kelsi Haugo (8/2), Amberlee Tialino (6/7) and Alyssa Heeman (5/2). The Genies 2-1 tournament showing moves their 2005 overall record to 43-9 and the championship game appearance marks their 11th in 14 tournaments entered.
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2005 Tournament Results
Genies Team and Player Statistics
