In the opening round, held in Kelowna: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Richmond Colts defeated the 16th-seeded Prince George Polarettes 85-58 as Dragana Djordjevic scored 23 and Joanna Babiuk 17. Colts coach Les Yamaguchi told the Richmond Review that his troops were “a little scrambly” at times. Polarettes coach Gerry Karpenko told the Prince George Citizen that “the girls weren’t expecting that kind of competition. They were a little in awe. We had a hard time scoring. We ran into a real drought in the second quarter. … They’re big. They had three players 6-0 or taller.” Richmond led 45-23 at the half. The Polarettes included Brenda Strachan, Christy Dondale, Kara Karpenko. …………………………………………………… The Salmon Arm Jewels stomped the Prince Rupert Rainmakers 93-47 as Tekki Brown scored 19, Shannon Hecker 10, Kim McLeod 10 and April Ollen 10. The Rainmakers included J Viera. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Abbotsford Panthers edged the 8th-seeded New Westminster Hyacks 41-36. …………………………………………………… The Langley Saints dispatched the Vernon Panthers 44-39 as Michele Gademans scored 14, Cher Kinamore 10 and Leigh Collins 10. Saints coach Glen Foreman told The Province “I’m just so happy, I’m ecstatic. We’ve come a long way this year. … We like to slow it down and scrap it out.” Foreman told the Langley Advance “it was considered a big upset. Vernon had been playing very well all year but we peaked at the right time. It wasn’t a fluke upset. I think we were the better team.” The Panthers included Carla Buchanan, Sarah Giddings. …………………………………………………… The Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs clipped the Victoria Oak Bay Bays 56-44. The Bays included P Alexander. …………………………………………………… The Victoria Belmont Tomahawks clocked the Delta Seaquam Seahawks 68-51 as Lisa Kooper scored 27. Hilary Leroy led the Seahawks with 21. The Seahawks also included K Mackenrot. …………………………………………………… The Maple Ridge Ramblers spanked the Victoria Mount Douglas Rams 55-40 as Carol Vinson scored 12 and Ann McGuckin 12. Pam Wilson led the Rams with 12. The Rams also included J Halket. …………………………………………………… The Steveston Packers edged the Cranbrook Mount Baker Trojanettes 44-42. The Trojanettes included J Dezall.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Richmond Colts thrashed the Abbotsford Panthers 61-41 as Dragana Djordjevic scored 25, while nabbing 15 boards. Joanna Babiuk added 17. Colts coach Les Yamaguchi told the Richmond Review that “they challenged us and we responded. It was a very good game but it wasn’t easy.” D Downey led the Panthers (coached by Russ Hall) with 15.
The Victoria Belmont Tomahawks clipped the Maple Ridge Ramblers 70-61 despite playing without Sheri Griffiths, who said sidelined by injury. Lisa Koop paced the Tomahawks with 30. Carol Vinson led the Ramblers with 14. The Ramblers also included T Grant, Ann McGuckin.
The 2nd-seeded Salmon Arm Jewels dumped the Steveston Packers 69-55 as Kim McLeod scored 16, Tonya Nyland 14, Shannon Hecker 12 and April Ollen 12. A Murfitt paced the Packers with 15. Packers coach Ann Gillrie-Carr told the Richmond Review “live and die by the outside shot. If they continue shooting in the way they’re going, they’re going to create trouble for a lot of teams. They pull you out so far.”
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs defeated the Langley Saints 44-30 as Sandra Charles scored 20. Cher Kinamore paced the Saints with 10. Gademans added 10, while Heather Dyck nabbed 13 boards and Leigh Collins 10. Saints coach Glen Foreman told the Langley Advance that “we played really well defensively but offensively, we couldn’t hit a shot.” The Saints (coached by Glen Foreman) also included Joanne Morgan, Melissa Grasby, Stephanie Wharton, Leigh Collins, Heather Dyck.
In the semis, the 3rd-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs thrashed the 2nd-seededed Salmon Arm Jewels 60-38 as 6-6 centre Sandra Charles dominated the paint and scored 24. The Centaurs led 20-7 after one quarter and 33-15 at the half. Shannon Hecker led the Jewels with 16. Tekki Brown added 6. Jewels coach Terry Michell told the Salmon Arm Observor that “so much of this game is matchups and their size is not a good matchup for us. … they came at us because if we drove, they still had that big girl in the key.” The Centaurs led 20-7 after one quarter and 33-15 at the half.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Richmond Colts dumped the 4th-seeded Victoria Belmont Tomahawks 93-76.
In the bronze medal match, the Salmon Arm Jewels defeated the Victoria Belmont Tomahawks 72-56 as Tekki Brown scored 19 and Tonya Nyland 15. Lisa Koop scored 19 to pace the Tomahawks. Tami Fowler added 15. The Tomahawks (coached by Bill Spotswood) also included Sheri Griffiths (who was injured), Kirsten Lane.
In the final, the top-seeded Richmond Colts defeated the Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs 72-56 as Dragana Djordjevic scored 25, defensive player of the tournament Joanna Babiuk 18, Gurjit Singh 12, Stacey Stevens 11, Tricia Cruz 2 and Carrie Linegar 2. Sandra Charles led Centennial with 24. Marlee Siemens added 12, Carly Solomon 8, Robyn Knight 6, Rachel manley-Casimir 3 and Carrie Linegar 2. Coach Les Hamaguichi told the Salmon Arm Observor that the Colts were blessed with “really good depth and a really good team.” Djordjevic told the Richmond Review “there is no better way to end the season.” Colts coach Les Hamaguchi said “we were confident going in and we had a good draw. But still it wasn’t an easy championship by any means. The margins of citory were a bit deceiving. For example, the final game against Centennial was tied midway through the third quarter but then we went on a 16-0 run. … I’m really proud of the composure we showed. We didn’t take anything for granted. We showed a lot of maturity and that was the key to our success. All year I said we had the best depth in the province and it came into play against Centennial. We pressed a lot and it worked some times. … But mostly it got them tired.” Centennial coach Steve Pettifer told the Salmon Arm Observor that “we just got beat by a team with more talent. You’re look at the provincial junior champions from two years ago.” The teams were tied at 18 midway through the second quarter when Richmond took command. “The difference was Richmond had a lot more offensive talent. Dragana Djordjevic is one of the premier offensive talents in the province.” The Centaurs dressed star guard Jackie Valois, who’d missed the entire tournament with a knee injury. “She just wanted to feel like she was part of the team,” said Pettifer.
The bronze medalist Salmon Arm Jewels: Shannon Hecker; Kim McLeod; Tekki Brown; Tonya Nyland; April Ollen; Tracy Kupkee; Sietske Gort; Jennifer Connor; Melanie Johnson; coach Terry Michell
The silver medalist Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs: Sandra Charles; Jackie Valois; Marlee Siemens; Carly Solomon; Robyn Knight; Rachel Manley-Casimir; Joanna Harauth; coach Steve Pettifer
The gold medalist Richmond Colts: Dragana Djordjevic; Joanna Babiuk; Tricia Cruz; Stacey Stevens; Shelley Johnston; Gurjit Singh; Carrie Linegar; Karyn Faryna; coach Les Hamaguichi