In the opening round, held in Nanaimo: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Abbotsford Panthers pasted the Vancouver Prince of Wales Walesmen 72-52 as Erin Carson scored 26 and Nancy Innes 16. Jen Knaver led the Walesmen with 14. Lindsay Brooks added 12. The Walesmen also included Valerie Sankey. …………………………………………………… The New Westminster Hyacks nipped the Prince George Polarettes 52-50 as Jo Ann Taylor scored 14 and Kim Phipps 12. Laurie Makowski led the Polarettes with 16. The Polarettes (coached by Bob Eaton) also included Pat Erdbecker, Marina Mori, Murjana Jurcic, Tracy Foster. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded North Delta Huskies dispatched the Duncan Cowichan Thunderettes 53-46 as Shannon Biggan scored 20. “I usually don’t score points,” Biggan said. “Our big shooter wasn’t shooting, so I had no choice.” Jolene Harwood added 17 and Sara Haave 10. Val Larson led the Thunderettes with 13. Sandra Hughes added 10. Larson told the Nanaimo Daily News that “we played bad and they played good. They capitalized on our little mistakes. We were flatfooted out there. We couldn’t get the momentum going. … We knew if we stopped Val Larson and the big girl (Hughes) in the middle, we’d win.” …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Kamloops Red Angels pounded the Port Alberni Alberni District Mischiefs 92-59 as Susie Zagar scored 23 and Susan Kerr 17. …………………………………………………… The Steveston Packers whipped the Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles 55-39 as Tricia Harrison scored 18, while nabbed 20 boards. The Packers led 27-20 at the half. Packers coach Jim McLeod told the Richmond Observor that his troops repeat travelling calls early were a function of tournament jitters. “We had more turnovers in this game than in three usual games combined. … We searched and searched and searched to find the right combination and we really got things going in the third quarter.” The Eagles (coached by Rudy Thiessen) included Belva Klassen, Paula Friesen, Elisa Janzen, Sue McPherson, Heather Funk, Ratzlaff. …………………………………………………… The Penticton Lakettes clipped the Vancouver Killarney Cougars 53-38 as Adele Fedorak scored 15. …………………………………………………… The Cranbrook Mount Baker Trojanettes dumped the Chilliwack Tillicums 47-41 as Jodi Savage scored 18. The Tillicums (coach Terri McGovern, assistant Linda Wiebe, assistant Debbie Manthei) included Angie Bergunder, Debbie Gray, Laura Cameron, Sandra Dyck, Debbie Korbeld, Anita Labrie, Elaine MacDonald, Mary Ironside, Betty Tuytel, Karine Verdonk. …………………………………………………… The Victoria Mount Douglas Rams dispatched the Prince Rupert Rainbirds 67-57 as Kristi Simpson scored 20. Edith St. Arnaud led the Rainbirds with 19.
In the quarterfinals, Nancy Innes scored 27 to lead the Abbotsford Panthers past the 4th-seeded Kamloops Red Angels 70-49. Erin Carson added 16 and Jasvir Bhogal 16. Susie Zagar led the Red Angels with 20. Janice Fraser added 9.
The 2nd-seeded Steveston Packers clipped the Victoria Mount Douglas Rams 72-62 as Tricia Harrison scored 20, Cheri Jensen 18, Ann Lacey 11 and Terri Thompson 6. The Packers opened with a 20-4 run largely on the efforts of Kara Davies. The Rams knotted the score at 31 at the half. Packers coach Jim McLeod told the Richmond Observor that “I jokingly said I thought we played our best game of the year because we beat three teams. We beat Mount Douglas. We beat the referees. And we beat ourselves.” At one point, the foul calls were 19-6, in the Rams favour. “It was a frustrating night for our kids that way,” McLeod said. “The foul situation being the way it was, it started to get to us.” Tanis Schaefer led the Rams with 24. The Rams also included Kristi Simpson.
The Penticton Lakettes edged the Cranbrook Mount Baker Trojanettes 53-47 as Adele Fedorak scored 14. Fedorak told the Nanaimo Daily News that “we knew they were a physical team but we were prepared. It was pretty tough under the boards. Our passing was good. Our offence was working well for us.” Leigh McGovern led the Trojanettes with 16. The Trojanettes also included Jerri Dakin, Terry Messer.
In the last quarterfinal, the 9th-seeded North Delta Huskies stunned the 3rd-seeded New Westminster Hyacks 79-56 as Sara Haave scored 18, Shannan Biggan 17 and Jolene Harwood 17. The Huskies broke to a 16-1 lead and romped. Becky Watson led the Hyacks with 14. The Hyacks also included Sheri Taylor.
In the semis, Erin Carson scored 25 and Nancy Innes 22 to lead the Abbotsford Panthers to a 67-55 victory over the North Delta Huskies. The Panthers led 18-12, 35-23 and 48-27 at the quarters. Sara Haave paced the Huskies with 16. Joan Ellingson added 10. North Delta had the misfortune of seeing guard Shannai Biggar pick up three fouls in the game’s first four minutes. But the Husies ripped off a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to make the final margin respectable.
In the other semi, the Penticton Lakettes defeated the Steveston Packers 40-33 as Elizabeth Sara scored 21. Debbie Ramadeen led the Packers with 18. Packers coach Jim McLeod told the Richmond Observor “they did a tremendous jog of taking Tricia Harrison away from us. They collapsed on her and we couldn’t get the ball in. We just couldn’t get anything going offensively.”
In the bronze medal match, the North Delta Huskies defeated the Steveston Packers 62-51 as Sara Haave scored 29 and Shannah Biggan 13. The Lakers led 18-12 at the half. The Packers led 26-24 at the half. The Lakers led 31-18 after three quarters. Tricia Harrison paced the Packers with 16. The Packers (coached by Jim McLeod) also included Cheri Jenson, Debbie Ramadeen, Terri Thompson, Ann Lacey, Kathleen Leachman. Packers coach Jim McLeod told the Richmond Observor that “I think, at provincial championships, you’ve got to get a few lucky bounces along the way.”
In the final, the Abbotsford Panthers defeated the Penticton Lakettes 47-45 on a clutch steal by Debbie Forsythe. She passed the ball to forward Nancy Innes who hit the winning bucket. Seconds earlier, Innes had missed two free throws with 18 seconds to go and the game tied at 45. Forsythe cleanly picked the ball at center court, passed it to Innes, who drove in uncontested, missed her first shot, but gathered the rebound and laid it up with four seconds to go. The bucket capped a rally which saw Abbotsford overcome a six-point deficit in the final minutes of play. Erin Carson keyed the rally with a 30-foot bomb. “It was do or die. I could see in their eyes that they wanted it,” said Abbotsford coach Russ Hall. “Once we had them tied, I knew we had them. The kids did and for a lot of them, it’s been a 10-year dream.” Erin Carson paced the Panthers with 25. Nancy Innes added 13. Adele Fedorak paced the Lakettes with 16. Carson called the win “fantastic, totally awesome. We had to shoot. Run and gun is the only way to play. And the team that shoots the most wins and that’s what happened.” Hall told the Abbotsford News that “there’s no doubt our experience in the final last year helped us win it all this year. The girls wanted to win this so badly, nothing was going to stop them. They regained their poise just when it counted most. I couldn’t be happier for this team. … Jasvir (Bhogal) took on the task of stopping the opposition’s big kid and she did a super job. She got her share of points too. Debbie (Forsythe) was instrumental in controlling the tempo of the games. There was a time in the Kamloops game when both our guards were out with foul trouble and our bench did a great job. They not only held the lead but added to it.”
The bronze medalist North Delta Huskies: Sara Haave; Shannon Biggan;
The silver medalist Penticton Lakettes: Adele Fedorak; Elizabeth Sara;
The gold medalist Abbotsford Panthers: Nancy Innes; Erin Carson; Debbie Forsythe; Lorri Fehr; Jasvir Bhogal; Judy Kao; Sandra McDonald; Cherilyn Carson; Nancy Exley; Paula Peary; Lisa Ilescheid; Ellana Jenstad; coach Russ Hall; assistant John Burns