LAS CRUCES — From the way she bounced, you'd think a Disney cartoonist created her.

Shoulder shrugs, flying hands and joyful head-bobbing marked Carissa McGee's dance at the intersection of athletic greatness and personal happiness.

From a distance - and even close up - she looked like a girl who was serious about basketball but who refused to take herself seriously. That, friends and teachers say, was the beauty of Carissa McGee.

"She had a great laugh and a great personality," said Donna Hansen, Carissa's guidance counselor at Las Cruces Mayfield High School. "She could have had a big head with all her success, but she never let that happen."

Carissa was a junior on a powerful Mayfield girls basketball team that was captained by her older sister Marie, a senior. Marie was a standout - good enough to win a scholarship to the University of Arizona - but Carissa, many say, was the star.

A talent of prodigious ability and potential, Carissa had dominated athletics throughout her high school career, especially at the 2006 girls state basketball tournament in Albuquerque, where she attracted notice with an infectious, seemingly joyful personality.

But less than three weeks after those heady days in March, Carissa's promise and sweetness evaporated in what police said was a vicious attack on her family - a stabbing so brutal that it left her mother and sister hospitalized and a community stunned.

Carissa's mother, Anita McGee, 44, and Marie, 18, suffered 35 stab wounds in all, according to court records.

The girl who had everything going right - a 3.0 grade-point average, the likelihood of a big-time college basketball scholarship, a high school scrapbook to dream about - now faces a future forever scarred.

Charged with aggravated battery and attempted first-degree murder, Carissa, 17, awaits trial. A date has not been set.

Though her case resides in the state's juvenile justice system - she has entered a denial of the charges - the Do¤a Ana County District Attorney's Office has filed a motion to seek an adult sentence for two counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated battery.

If convicted as an adult on all counts, Carissa could face up to 24 years in prison, Assistant District Attorney Amy Orlando said. If convicted as a juvenile, Carissa must serve time until she is 21.

Though some say the reason for the incident is not clear, some friends say it may have been sparked by Carissa's yearlong relationship with a girls basketball star from a rival school in Albuquerque - and her family's reaction to it.

"I can't believe it got to this point," said Martina Holloway, the former Sandia High basketball standout who said her relationship with Carissa caused friction in the family. "A girl like that doesn't belong in jail."

A judge and jury may someday make that decision, but in recent months, the only time Carissa was allowed to play basketball was the hour a day she received in the recreation area of the Do¤a Ana County Juvenile Detention Center.

Public Defender Rory Rank, who represents Carissa, said she has been moved from the detention center to a new location for "treatment purposes." Rank wouldn't confirm the location.

The Do¤a Ana County Juvenile Detention Center is 3 miles from the Mayfield campus, where Carissa would otherwise be spending her senior year. But for the girl who might have had it all, high school must seem light years away.

The Case

Court records say Las Cruces police arrived at the McGee home about 2:15 a.m. on March 27 to find Anita with 20 stab wounds and Marie with 15.

Officers also found two broken knife blades and blood throughout the house, the records state.

According to those records, Carissa found her mom outside the house, screaming "You're trying to kill us," and "Get away from me" shortly after the incident.

Carissa then knocked on the door of neighbors, who called the police, the records say. Anita and Marie told officers that Carissa stabbed them, records say.

Carissa was jailed after the incident and has also spent time in a behavioral health hospital in the Las Cruces area, as prosecutors agreed she needed specialized treatment.

Orlando said the brutality of the crime merits an adult sentence. Michal Mokryn, a public defender representing Carissa, declined to comment on this issue.

Carissa's lawyers have turned down several interview requests this year from The Tribune. Marie and Anita, a nurse, also have denied a personal request and several requests made through the District Attorney's Office. Holloway said the family has two other sisters - Amber, 22, and Crystal, 25. Neither could be reached.

Others, however, have tried to illustrate the core of who Carissa is.

Or, at least, who they thought she was.

The House

There isn't much in the McGees' background that hints at trouble brewing. From a distance, their house on California Street in Las Cruces looks like a suburban American postcard.

There's a spacious, grassy front yard with rose bushes near the front door. There is a thickly branched shade tree and a worn basketball hoop with a chain net.

Carissa's weathered maroon Chevy truck sits underneath the hoop with white writing - "I love 40" (Carissa's number) - on the driver's side window. It's a remnant from her glory days, better days, as a Mayfield basketball star.

You didn't have to look up, toward a hoop, to see happiness. Togetherness was apparent at ground level as well.

In 1996, Carissa, Marie, Anita, relatives and friends left their handprints in wet concrete on the driveway in front of the McGees' home.

Despite the home's pleasant appearance, the McGees kept to themselves. Only one of the six neighbors who spoke to The Tribune were even acquaintances of the family.

"I've lived here for 25 years, and I've never been associated with them," said one neighbor, Bennie Melon.

Several family friends said the McGee sisters have no recollection of their father, who played at Las Cruces High School in the late '70s. Mayfield girls coach George Maya said his name was Mario, and the two played against each other when Maya was at Gadsden High. Maya said Mario "was athletic. His game reminded me of Marie and Carissa."

No one who spoke with The Tribune knew where he lives.

Carissa's name, however, was familiar in town, thanks in large part to her basketball ability. At 5-foot-10, her blend of talent and athleticism - she averaged 14.2 points a game and led the state with 6.3 assists as a post player - lured some of the country's best college basketball programs.

Stanford, Arizona State, California, UCLA and many others were interested in Carissa, Maya said.

They were joined by the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State - both well aware of her two Gatorade New Mexico Athlete of the Year awards, one for basketball, one for track.

"Carissa really was the best athlete in Las Cruces in a while," said Geoff Grammar, sports editor of the Las Cruces Sun-News. "She knew she was the best, but she didn't ever present herself in that way. She was confident without the cockiness."

The Break

Martina Holloway said her relationship with Carissa was something that Carissa's family couldn't accept and wouldn't condone.

A top basketball player at Sandia, now playing at Stephen F. Austin University in Texas, Holloway confirmed in an interview that she and Carissa were in a close relationship for about a year.

"We started out friends, but it ended up becoming something I enjoyed," said Holloway, 18. "There's something about Carissa."

Holloway said that as Carissa's relationship with Holloway grew, her at-home relationships became strained.

Friends said a yearlong feud - based partly on Carissa's relationship with Holloway - caused the family to detach.

It seemed nothing could ease the tension, Carissa's close friend and teammate Jamonica Hudgins said.

"On court, (the sisters) didn't talk. Off court, they didn't talk," said Hudgins, who grew up with the McGees. "Marie made it seem like she was picking sides. They worked really good together when playing, but that was about it."

The girls gave each other gas money for trips to and from Albuquerque or Las Cruces, said Holloway, who said she became increasingly concerned with Carissa's home life.

"They were on letter-writing terms around the house," Holloway said. "Her mother wouldn't look me in the eye (when Holloway visited) because she didn't agree with our relationship."

Holloway said Anita grounded Carissa a week before March 27, around spring break time, and took away her cell phone. Holloway gave Carissa her phone to borrow for the week.

The tension apparently overflowed on the evening of March 26 and the next morning. According to court documents, Carissa was angry her sister "snitched" to their mother about the cell phone. Anita was angry Carissa wasn't truthful about the phone.

Hudgins said Marie had trouble dealing with her sister's relationship with Holloway.

"Before, they (the sisters) were close, but when she met Martina is when it kind of turned," Hudgins said. "When Martina came, Marie became jealous. Martina's being blamed for a lot of this."

Holloway said she feels partially responsible for Carissa's family problems because of "what we were."

But Holloway said she offered to end the relationship if it would make things easier at home for Carissa.

"Time and time again I told Carissa that if she needed to stop this so her and her mom could get along, so be it," she said. "Let's do it. But she didn't want to let her mom get what she wanted, and her mom kept pushing her."

The Sister

A former captain of the Mayfield girls basketball team, Marie McGee always appeared calm and loving to those around her, friends said.

Maybe those traits explain why her favorite color is pink.

"That's why I brought her pink roses the last time I saw her when she visited school," Mayfield guard Madison Spence said.

Hansen said Marie visited the Mayfield campus in May and appeared to be in good condition. She had bandages on her arms that covered scars from the incident, Hansen said.

"The first thing (Marie) asked me, as always, is how am I doing," Hansen said. "You can't be around Marie and be depressed because she cares about people so much."

Marie is no slouch as a basketball player. She averaged about 12 points a game as a senior and drew the interest of the Arizona basketball program, where she is a freshman.

Arizona women's basketball coach Joan Bonvicini, who has known Marie and Carissa for three years, said she's impressed with how Marie has handled the tragedy.

Living in Arizona with supportive teammates has helped her adjust, Bonvicini said.

"I'm surprised to see her improvement not just physically, but emotionally watching her heal," Bonvicini said. "A lot of that is her great attitude. She's not just beautiful outside, but inside."

Marie is training for Arizona's upcoming basketball season. Despite microsurgery on her left thumb during the offseason, she has recovered from all injuries stemming from the late-March incident and will play this season.

"She'll come off the bench, like most freshmen do," Bonvicini said.

The Reminders

Holloway said she doesn't have much to remind her of Carissa; the two haven't spoken since the arrest.

But the shock has yet to subside.

"I'm used to waking up to a phone call and a `Good morning' from Carissa," Holloway said. "Now it's not the same. I've awakened some mornings crying, thinking, if she really did do this, what's going to happen?"

Holloway said she writes letters to Carissa and sends them to the detention center in Las Cruces. She gets no response.

The relationship, Holloway said, was low-key at the start but began to blossom a little more than a year ago.

The two spent weekends playing ball together. On weekdays, they talked for hours on their cell phones.

They also made plans. Holloway said Carissa was considering bypassing top-25 basketball programs to sign with Stephen F. Austin, where Holloway is playing this fall.

"I hated seeing her in a jumpsuit," said Holloway, who drove down to Las Cruces on the day of the incident and saw Carissa in custody.

Holloway said she doesn't understand why people have said their relationship caused Carissa to rebel against her family.

"No one knows why she did what she did," Holloway said.

But one thing isn't confusing for Holloway: She said she is clinging to hope that her relationship with Carissa isn't over.

"No matter what," she said, "we can be together."

The Future

The girl who used to hang out on Mayfield's courtyard after school has led a structured life since late March.

On a typical day at the Do¤a Ana County Juvenile Detention Center, Carissa awoke at 6 a.m., ate three meals, attended a high school education program and was in bed by 9 p.m. Prosecutor Jeanne Quintero said Carissa has been prescribed medication and is receiving mental health treatment.

The timeline for her case is unclear, and the court hasn't set a trial date. The prosecution and defense are waiting for a pre-trial conference to begin under Judge Robert Robles, who took over the case for the recently retired Judge Larry Ramirez.

The case almost certainly will eliminate Carissa's senior season at Mayfield, where basketball practice begins in November.

More problematic for Carissa is the world beyond high school basketball. Even if she is acquitted or released in the next year, the incident might make her undesirable to schools that once might have recruited her.

UCLA women's basketball coach Kathy Olivier said her program is no longer recruiting Carissa.

"For us, it's hard to recruit a player in that type of situation," Olivier said. "I would think most coaches would say that, though some programs might be in a position to take a player with problems."

Dave Telep, the director of college basketball recruiting for scout.com, said a player with legal problems often is crossed off a recruiter's list.

Many troubled players go to a junior college for two years to start over, Telep said.

"That's where you can work under a spotlight but not in the limelight," he said. "You can get your reputation back without doing it on television."

These days, the only basketball court Carissa sees is the one at the detention center. It's a sad reminder of what once was, but for those who know her, basketball doesn't really matter anymore.

It might not ever matter again.

"As much as we're talking basketball, who really cares?" Olivier said. "Her whole life has changed."