In the opening round, held in Castlegar: …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Vancouver Prince of Wales Walesmen dumped the Chilliwack Tillicums 53-35 after slowing down the pace of the game to a crawl. Prince of Wales was led by Karen Stewart’s 15 points and Susie Neil’s 14. Terrilyn Higgs added 5. Pat Delisle paced the Tillicums with 13. Maxine Currie added 10. Walesmen coach Darlene Currie told the Vancouver Sun “I didn’t know anything about them but I anticipated we’d be up against very good man-to-man pressure and I didn’t want to get in a running game with them. I wanted to establish our game and make sure we maintained some kind of control. It may not have been entertaining but it got us through the first round.” The Tillicums (coached by Terry McGovern) also included Lori Diamond, Robyn Sussel, Janice Jacob, Lori Rolheiser, Debbie Beaulieu, Brenda English, Marg Geddes. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Quesnel Correlieu Clan defeated the Kamloops Norkam Saints 67-60 as Carla Kolody scored 25 and Michelle Montague 22. Shirley Sirica led the Norkettes with 24. The Norkettes also included Carolyn Zutz. Norkam had cut a 58-34 lead to six but Correlieu coach Doug Ewing reinserted point guard Rochelle Nadeau and her ballhandling skills carried the Clan to the win. …………………………………………………… The sixth-seeded Penticton Lakettes defeated the West Vancouver Highlanders 75-63 as Carmen Dolfo scored 25 and Shelly Johnson 14. Sheila James led the Highlanders with 31. Lisa Yesowick added 14. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded North Delta Huskies dumped the Cowichan Thunderettes 60-49 as Kathy McDonald scored 30 and Joanne Devlin 16. Jody Saunders led the Thunderettes with 12. The Thunderettes also included Bev Chaster. North Delta coach Marylee MacDonald told the Vancouver Sun “the idea was to use Kathy and our height.” Thunderettes coach Pat Chaster said “this not the same team we had last year. We’ve lost three forwards and a centre. Still, it’s no disgrace to lose by 11 points to number one.” …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded New Westminster Hyacks crushed the Alberni Chiefettes 63-35 as Sandy McLean scored 26 and Erin Badger 23. Lori Hunter led the Chiefettes with 23. The Chiefettes (coached by Doug Stoutley) also included Laureleah Jeffrey, Jill Grisdale, Janice Boyko, Fiona Moss, Lori Bailey, Milena Gaiga. New Westminster trailed 51-44 when coach Bob Gair switched to a triangle-and-two defence. “What we were attempting to do was put as much pressure on the ball as possible,” he told the Vancouver Sun. “It gave us better rebounding and also eliminated the backdoor play which had stung us earlier.” …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Maple Ridge Ramblers edged the Cranbrook Mount Baker Trojanettes 66-61 as Sandy Espeseth scored 29 and Sylvia Watson 12. Megan Henderson led the Trojanettes with 21. Pam Auld added 16. The Trojanettes (coached by Mr Bousquet and Mr Bryden) also included Sharon Auld, Leslie Faminoff, Robin Henderson, Jill Savage, Sharon McDowll, Kelly Quinn, Mona Brunelle, Mary Salmon, Carrie Jokanovich and Joyce Lemaster. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded North Vancouver Hillside Middle School Highwaymen dumped the 8th-seeded Trail J.L. Crowe Hawks 58-47 as Jessica Baker scored 15, Claire Carder 14 and Vivian McAdam 14. Theresa Henlon led the Hawks with 13. …………………………………………………… The Kitimat Mount Elizabeth Eagles edged the Victoria Oak Bay Bays 73-71 as Rena Carson scored 16 and Chris Hole 12. Janet Fowler led the Bays with 24. Sue Walton added 22.
In the quarterfinals, the Vancouver Prince of Wales Walesmen clipped the Kitimat Mount Elizabeth Orcas 64-52 after opening the game with an 11-0 run. Kitimat rallied to within 42-36 with 10:41 to go before Prince of Wales responded with a 10-2 run that sealed the victory. Teri-Lynn Higgs led the Walesmen with 18. Karaan Lewis added 17 and Susie Neil 15. Rena Carson led the Orcas with 14. Marie Gubbels added 12. Orcas coach Ron MacAulay told the Vancouver Sun that “they’re by far the best team we’ve seen and I’m pleased we came that close. I think maybe the bad start was because we were a little intimidated by them.”
The 6th-seeded Penticton Lakettes defeated the 5th-seeded Maple Ridge Ramblers 63-56 as Carman Dotto scored 19 and Nadine Fedorak 12. Sandy Espeseth led the Ramblers with 15. Kenzie Blois added 13. The Ramblers also included Sylvia Watson, Brenda Evart. The Lakettes defence effectively contained post Sandy Espeseth, preventing the Ramblers from getting into their half-court sets.
The top-seeded North Delta Huskies whipped the North Vancouver Hillside Middle School Highwaymen 42-25 as Joanne Devlin scored 16 and 6-1 post Kathy McDonald 8. Gill Saxby led the Highwaymen with 7. Claire Carder added 6. Huskies coach Mary-Lee MacDonald told the Vancouver Sun that her troops demonstrated “poor shot selection,” while Highwaymen coach Bill Elliott said “I certainly can’t complain about my defence but my offence was terrible. My guards weren’t reacting. The shots weren’t falling for Claire. My number 13 (Jessica Baker) was shooting outside her range and number four (Vivian McAdam) was shooting off-balance.”
In the last quarterfinal, the Quesnel Correlieu Clan defeated the New Westminster Hyacks 59-57 as Michelle Montague scored 28 and Rochelle Nadeau 10. The Clan took an early 10-4 lead and maintained a slim margin throughout the affair. Erin Badger led the Hyacks with 22. Sandy McLean added 12. The Clan led 51-47 with 7.5 minutes to play. The Hyacks rallied to within 57-55 with 2:24 on the clock but Michelle Montague hit a bucket with 53 seconds to play to give the Clan a four-point edge and they held on for the win.
In the semis, the Vancouver Prince of Wales Walesmen defeated the Penticton Lakettes 54-45 as Teri-Lynn Higgs scored 16 and Karen Stewart 12.
In the other semi, the Quesnel Correlieu Clan stunned the top-ranked North Delta Huskies 52-51 as Michelle Montague scored 18 and Rachelle Nadeau 12. With five seconds to play, Huskie star Joanne Devlin uncharacteristically missed a jumper. It was rebounded by Darlene Cryderman. She was fouled and although she missed the free throws, the Clan held on for the win. The Clan fell behind by 8 early but ripped off an 8-0 run, and later a 10-0 run to take a 43-34 lead. Clan coach Doug Ewing told the Cariboo Observor that “we really shocked them. … No one believed we would beat North Delta. Now they’ve got to realize that something is happening up here.”
In the bronze medal match, the North Delta Huskies defeated the Penticton Lakettes 58-52 as Kathy McDonald scored 21. Carmen Dolfo led the Lakettes with 12. Nadine Fedorak added 13.
In the final, the Vancouver Prince of Wales Walesmen defeated the Quesnel Correlieu Clan (then the Nuggets) 66-41 as Susie Neil scored 22, Teri-Lynn Higgs 15, Karaan Lewis 10, Morgan Rhea 4, Kate Stebbings 4, Karen Stewart 3, Lauren Cherzekoff 2, Donna Forward 2, Jean Sharpe 2 and Brenda Due 2. Correlieu was paced by Michelle Montague 13, Rochelle Nadeau 9, Carla Kolody 8, Ann-Marie Feeley 6 and Darlene Cryderman 5. The Walesmen took a 12-2 lead and were never threatened. Clan coach Doug Ewing his troops were weary after the stunning semi-final win. “It’s super, really super. Last year, we finished 16th. I told the kids ‘listen don’t feel too bad. We’ll come back next year and finish in the top 10’. I would have been completely pleased with finishing in the top 10.”
The bronze medalist North Delta Huskies: Joanne Devlin; Kathy McDonald; Nancy Featherstone; Pam Walker; coach Marylee MacDonald
The silver medalist Quesnel Correlieu Clan: Michelle Montague; Rachelle Nadeau; Carla Kolody; Ann-Marie Feeley; Darlene Cryderman; Mandy Fleck; Susan Lowe; coach Doug Ewing
The gold medalist Vancouver Prince of Wales Walesmen: Susie Neil; Karen Stewart; Teri-Lynn Higgs; Karaan Lewis; Morgan Rhea; Kate Stebbings; Lauren Cherzekoff; Donna Forward; Jean Sharpe; Brenda Due; coach Darlene Currie