It was April Fools Day, but the Genies were all business on the final day of the Phoenix Phenoms tournament. Both Genies squads played some of their best team basketball of the year and the results were impressive: two one-sided victories in championship encounters to cap off undefeated tournaments for each team. The Genies 12U team opened the tournament Saturday afternoon with a 40-21 victory over the host Phenoms. Elizabeth Rudd scored eight points, and the Genies used a 17-2 third quarter run to break things open. Later that night, the Genies led most of the way, but had to withstand a late fourth quarter rally before turning back the Arizona Premier by the count of 33-30. Cortnee Walton tallied 12 points to lead the team in scoring. In Sunday’s championship tilt, a rematch with the Premier, the Genies were determined not to let the opposition stick around as they had the previous night. And boy did they make good on that commitment. In what was surely the team’s best effort of the season, the Genies jumped all over the Premier, racing to leads of 19-2 at the quarter, and 31-6 at the half, before cruising the rest of the way in a 38-12 victory. The Genies scored inside and out, with pressure full-court defense, and solid accuracy from the free throw line. Janai Mitchell led the team with nine points. The Genies set the bar high for future outings by demonstrating their full potential, and showed they are capable of competing with any team in the state when at the top of their collective game. For the tournament the Genies were led in scoring by Walton with 22 points. She was followed by Mitchell (21), Tessa Smith (18), Megan Crenshaw (16), Elizabeth Rudd (11), Alex Nicholls (7), Candice Bomar and Rebecca Rudd (6 each) and Kaylee Snider and Shelly Goglio (2 each). The Genies 12s overall record now stands at 25-8. The Genies 14s were the only 14U team entered into the ten-team 15U division, but they showed no signs of intimidation playing against the older teams and finished 4-0 in route to the tournament title. Friday night’s opening round game with Arizona Thunder - Carlise was the only game in which teams stayed within single-digits of the Genies. In this match-up the Genies held a slim lead throughout the entire contest, but were unable to put together a big enough run to put the Thunder away for good. Still, with under two minutes left the Genies led by five. However, the Thunder hit two three-pointers in the final minute and had possession of the ball with the score tied and only eight seconds to play. But with time ticking down, Alyssa Heeman stole a Thunder pass, streaked the length of the court and converted a layup as time expired, giving the Genies a 39-37 win. Christine Stevenson and Ashton Jones each scored 11 points to lead the Genies in scoring. The closeness of that game seemed to get the Genies attention as they proceeded to win their next three games by double-digit margins. With the team’s newest member, Ausha Cole, making her debut in a Genies uniform, the defensive intensity increased noticeably and the Genies gave up an average of less than 20 points per game from that point on. In games two and three Heeman scored 12 and 13 points respectively to lead the team to wins over the Arizona Lady Cobras (30-18) and Arizona Thunder – Nelson (42-16) and a spot in Sunday’s title game with the Phoenix Phenoms 15U team. In the championship game, the Genies relentless full-court pressure and up-tempo pace eventually wore down the Phenoms, as Heeman tallied 11 points and Jones collected 11 rebounds in a 42-24 Genies win. For the four-game tournament Heeman led the team with 41 points, 11 rebounds, 18 assists and eight steals for 78 Total Stats. She was followed by Jones (34+25+6+9=74TS), Stevenson (26+11+2+6=45TS), Cara Bomar (17+10+5+5=37TS), Cole (13+14+7+6=30TS), Amberlee Tialino (14+3+2+8=27TS), Kelsi Haugo (7+8+5+3=23TS) and Shana Davis (2+6+0+7=15TS). The Genies overall record now stands at 9-4. Also, in Saturday’s intermission shootout activities, the 12s Rebecca Rudd finished in second place in the three-point competition; the 14s Stevenson placed third in the free throw contest; and Coach Steve shot his way to his third coach’s bumpout championship in the past five years.
Results:
Your Wish Is My Command:
Genies 12U Championship Photo
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2007 Tournament Results
Genies Team and Player Statistics
