STAFF PHOTO BY STEPHANIE KENIGSBERG Flooring it Crashing to the gym floor, Port Aransas High School Lady Marlins forward Katelin Dupnik looks to throw the ball to a teammate in a game against the Sinton High School Lady Pirates during the Marlin Classic. The Lady Marlins prevailed in this game but couldn't muster another win in the tourney. It's hard to win your own tournament when you invite highly talented teams to town.

The Port Aransas High School Lady Marlins lost three out of four games in the Marlin Classic Nov. 20-22.

"The Lady Marlins faced tough competition," said Stephanie Foerster, coach of the Lady Marlins. "Two of their first three opponents are ranked in the top 20 (in the state) in their classification."

There were bright spots for the Port Aransas girls. PAHS senior Hannah Jones was named to the all-tournament team and Lady Marlin Rachael Phillips won the three-pointer contest.

The Lady Marlins started the tourney with a loss, 32-44, to Skidmore- Tynan High School.

"After being down at the half (10- 25), the girls fought hard, but couldn't over come the early deficit," Foerster said.

STAFF PHOTO BY STEPHANIE KENIGSBERG Powering up Hannah Jones of the Lady Marlins goes strong toward the goal in a game against Banquete during the Marlin Classic tournament. Lady Marlin scoring: Emily Scott, 11; Jones, 9; Katelin Dupnik, 8; Jordan Butterfield, 2; and Meredith Berry, 2. Dupnik also pulled down seven rebounds.

In their next game, the Lady Marlins beat the Sinton High School Lady Pirates, 33-30, in a match-up that featured an exciting finish.

The score was tied at 30 apiece in the game's closing seconds when Berry was fouled while driving toward the basket. She couldn't shoot the foul shots because her shoulder was hurt, so Rachael Phillips came off the bench and sank both free throws.

Sinton then drove down the floor in an effort to score or draw a foul, but Phillips came up big again, taking a charge and clinching the game for the Lady Marlins.

Lady Marlin scoring: Berry, 10; Scott, 7; Dupnik, 7; Jones, 3; Chelsea Perez, 2; Reba Armanovs, 2; and Phillips, 2.

STAFF PHOTO BY STEPHANIE KENIGSBERG Flying high Port Aransas High School Lady Marlin Rachael Phillips grabs a rebound against a Sinton player on Thursday, Nov. 20, during the Marlin Classic tournament. The next opponent for the island girls was Slocum High School, with a team ranked at No. 3 in the state for 1-A teams. (PAHS also is 1-A.)

"The Lady Marlins lost, 38-47, but all agreed it was a tremendous effort by the girls," Foerster said.

Leading Lady Marlin scorers were Dupnik, with 17 points; Jones, 7; Savanna Nixon, 5.

The Lady Marlins lost their final game by a score of 31-42 against Banquete High School.

The Port Aransas girls were behind, 13-4, at the end of the first quarter. They rallied to outscore their opponents, 8-7 in the second quarter and 11-9 in the third. But Banquete sealed the game with a 13-8 performance in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Marlins' season record now stands at 3-3.

STAFF PHOTO BY KAREN COLLINS Scott supporters Lady Marlin Emily Scott has her supporters in the crowd.