Penda Ba did Arizona proud at the 90th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The Gilbert 8th grader correctly spelled "sequestration" in the event's third round. But you won't see her spelling on ESPN during Thursday's Finals.
Judges added up Wednesday's on-stage spelling results to written tests that all contestants took. No more than 50 of the top scorers were invited back on Thursday.
Penda's score came up just a little bit short.
Earlier in the day, Arizona's other speller gave a great effort, but 6th grader Kelly Haven could not quite master her 2nd round word, "spessartine."
