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In matchup of two of the top teams in East Texas, the Emory Rains LadyCats scored a 45-41 win over the Jacksonville Maidens in the championship of the 20th Anniversary Macy Chenevert Memorial Girls Basketball Tournament on Saturday at Haddad Gymnasium on the campus of Bishop Gorman Catholic School on Saturday.

The tournament is hosted by Steve and Becky Chenevert and Bishop Gorman. The tournament is an annual Tyler event in memory and honor of Bishop Gorman student and basketball player Macy Chenevert, who died from cancer.

“We love playing in this tournament,” Rains Coach Laura Jenkins said. “This is always a challenging tournament and people at Gorman and Tyler are so nice. We have been close a couple of times (to winning the title). We are thankful for winning this tournament that is played in memory of Macy.

“Jacksonville got us at our place last week. They are a great team. It feels like a district game.”

The Maidens handed the LadyCats their first lost (42-36) in Emory and Rains returned the favor by giving the Maidens their first defeat in Tyler. Both were hotly contested contests. Rains was 8-1 entering Monday’s game at Gilmer.

Jaycee Phillips of Rains was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament.

In the championship game, Phillps and Arianna Philson each scored 12 points to lead the LadyCats. Also scoring for Rains were Kenzy Thompson (8), Caroline Piles (7) and Presley Kilgore (6).

Jacksonville’s Tia Fuller was named Defensive Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while teammate Marquicia Robertson was an all-tournament selection.

Fuller scored 57 points in the three-day tournament and Roberson added 56.

In the title game, Fuller led all scores with 15 points.

Jacksonville will return to District 10-5A play on Tuesday, traveling to Whitehouse to meet the LadyCats. Tipoff is set for 11:15 a.m. at C.L. Nix Wildcat Arena.

Brook Hill defeated Tatum, 65-51, for third place in the gold bracket.

Atanta defeated Grapevine Faith Christian for the silver bracket championship.

Rains is coming off its first berth in the state tournament. The LadyCats are scheduled to play at Hooks at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

ABOUT MACY

Coaches and teammates said Macy brought fearlessness, compassion and determination to the court.

Her parents added that at Macy’s insistence, chemo and radiation treatments were scheduled around her basketball games. She “could not let her team down.”

She continued to play for her Bishop Gorman middle school basketball team and helped the Lady Crusaders to a second-place district finish.

The point guard would do much more than lead her team in scoring, friends and family said. “She was about to teach a team and a whole community life lessons they still treasure today,” her parents said in the program for the tournament. “Macy was the ultimate team player.”

She died a few months later at the age of 14 on April 14, 2005.