In the opening round, held in Maple Ridge: …………………………………………………… The New Westminster Hyacks pasted the Prince George Polarettes 75-33 as player of the game Martha Craig scored 22 and Andrea Nicholson 16. Hyacks coach Bob Gair told the Vancouver Sun that he was satisfied with the victory, but his team will have to step up their play a notch today. “I know this wasn’t our best game. We never play well to open tournaments.” Yuka Okada paced the Polarettes with 7. Michelle Elliott added 7. The Polarettes (coached by Chris Gilbert) also included Jessica Wintherbotham, Melanie Botocne. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Salmon Arm Jewels, sporting a 33-2 record, hammered the 16th-seeded Prince Rupert Rainbirds 88-46 as Tekki Brown and April Ollen each scored 14. Anita Robinson led the Rainmakers with 23. Kim Kennedy added 8 and Patricia Hidber 8. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks edged the 10th-seeded Cranbrook Mount Baker Trojanettes 67-64. The Trojanettes ripped off a 28-2 run to take a 51-40 lead in the third quarter after Hawks starters Alex Van Lochem and Lisa Jeske found themselves in foul trouble. But the Hawks rallied back by attacking off the dribble and nailing their free throws before Van Lochem returned with three minutes to play and completely shutdown the Trojanette offence. Paige Inman paced the Hawks with 16. Alex VanLochem added 11. Hawks coach Rudy Teichrob told the Vancouver Sun that the pressure of the tournament combined with facing a large crowd had his team out of control. “It was definitely nerves. They came out way too hard. But we got a gutsy and gritty performance from our bench.” Julie Dayman paced the Trojanettes with 20. Brandi Weisbecker added 11. The Trojanettes (coached by Bill Stephens, assistant Ian Gordon, manager? Leigh-Anne Martini) also included Linnea Brown, Jennifer Organ, Shelby Cain, Vinessa Kruger, Kim Dayman, Becky Phillips, Amanda Reid, Glory Conroy, Tammy Janni and Jennifer Nagel. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded host Maple Ridge Ramblers thrashed the 11th-seeded West Vancouver Highlanders 75-52 on the strength of a late 21-0 run. Ramblers coach Cindy Thompson told the Vancouver Province that she delivered a proverbial half-time chat. “We burned so much nervous energy at the start of the game that we were exhausted. But I think we just wore them out in the end.” West Vancouver had ripped off a 21-8 run late in the first half to rally within 33-32 at the break. Karen Lawson paced Maple Ridge with 18. Carol Vinson added 16. Lisa Hallstrom led the Highlands with 16. Amy Tutt added 15. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Victoria Belmont Tomahawks ambushed the North Delta Huskies 80-34 as Lisa Koop scored 22 and Denise Rehman 15. Brooke Nygard led the Huskies with 14. Kerri Madsen added 8. The Huskies also included Shelly English, Sarah McMillan. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs defeated the Penticton Lakettes 57-45 after breaking open a 32-31 half-time game with a 13-0 run in the third quarter. “The kids were nervous,” Centaurs coach Steve Pettifer told the Vancouver Province. “The kids got out of their comfort zone.” Marlee Siemens paced Centennial with 25. Carly Solomon added 20. Jillian Snider led the Lakettes with 14. Jacquie Hicks added 13. The Lakettes also included Keri Crossley, Erin Jones. …………………………………………………… The Delta Seaquam Seahawks whipped the Steveston Packers 61-39 as Daria Vandergraff scored 19 and Jenee Lutz 17. The Seahawks became the fourth Fraser Valley conference squad to make the final eight. “It’s always a tough conference and to have four teams in the final eight is phenomenal,” Seaquam coach Fiona Moss told the Province. Cindy Mavety paced the Packers with 14. Anna Vardy added 11. The Packers (coached by Ann Gillrie-Carr) also included Amanda Habkirk, Jessica Troelsen, Lori Kemp. …………………………………………………… The defending champ Richmond Colts dumped the Victoria Mount Douglas Rams 65-52. The Rams included Elena Laliotis, Mary Walter, Jen Bisson.
In the quarterfinals, the 2nd-seeded New Westminster Hyacks nipped the 9th-seeded Delta Seaquam Seahawks 58-54 as guard Sarah Grant hit a pair of treys down the stretch. “The key to the win was spectacular shooting by Sarah Grant,” Hyacks coach Bob Gair told the Vancouver Sun. “Those shots were enough to elevate the others to say, we can win this game.” Kirsten Hanson paced the Hyacks with 19. Tricia Grant added 11. Gair noted that “everyone said it’s time to suck it up and make it to the Final Four or else talk about this (chance) the rest of our lives.” Daria Vandergraff led the Seahawks with 20. The Seahawks (coached by Fiona Moss) also included Jenee Lutz. The Hyacks outscored the Seahawks 21-8 in the third quarter.
The Victoria Belmont Tomahawks whipped the Maple Ridge Ramblers 83-50 as point guard and player of the game Lisa Koop scored 28 and played penetrate-and-pitch to perfection. “I like the pressure,” Koop told the Vancouver Province. “I seem to play better in crunch games.” An emotional Maple Ridge head coach Cindy Thompson said her team could hold their heads high. “I’ve said all along that they (Belmont), on paper, have all the parts.” Tomahawk 6-2 post Denise Rehman, who scored a combined 24 in Belmont’s first two games, was born without the tips on the fingers of her left hand. Koop told the Vancouver Sun that the Rehman was “the best catcher the team has in the low post.” Rehman said “no one really notices it. They just think I’m making a fist.” Thompson told the Vancouver Sun that she underestimated Koop’s passing ability. “We thought we could cheat off the floor and contain Koop. But she made some amazing passes, incredible dishes.” The Tomahawks put the game away with an 11-2 run in the second half. Carol Vinson paced the Ramblers with 13. The Ramblers also included Karen Lawson, Anne Mulholland, Anne McGuckin.
The top-seeded Salmon Arm Jewels demolished the 8th-seeded Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks 86-44 as 11 players hit the scoresheet, led by Kim McLeod’s 25. Tekki Brown added 17. The Jewels hit .500 from the field, including 7-7 from the arc and five treys by guard Tekki Brown. The Jewels led 46-25 at the half. Louise Tuchscherer led the Hawks with 11. The Hawks (coached by Rudy Teichrob) also included Alex Van Lochem, Lisa Jeske, Paige Inman.
In the last quarterfinal, the Richmond Colts defeated the 3rd-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Cougars 56-52. Richmond was at a distinct height disadvantage but won the game with gutsy inside play from 5-foot-11 Tanya Pickerall and aggressive drives to the hoop by Joanna Babiuk. “I guess it depended on how big we played and today we played BIG,” said Richmond coach Les Hamaguchi. Tanya Pickerall paced the Colts with 22. Robyn Knight led the Cougars with 14. The Cougars (coached by Steve Pettifer) also included Marlee Siemens, Carly Solomon, Amanda Mulholland.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded New Westminster Hyacks annihilated the Richmond Colts 62-38 as player of the game Kirsten Hanson scored 14, all in the second half. The Hyacks were up 27-9 in the first half, but only 37-32 in the third quarter before going on a 21-6 run in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Tanya Pickerell led the Colts with 17. “It sure is nice to be back in the finals,” Hyacks co-coach Bob Gair told the Vancouver Sun. “It’s been long overdue. But Richmond’s a tough team and I’ve said it all along. With the top seven teams in B.C., if you don’t play well, you don’t make it. You can’t afford to look ahead.” Richmond coach Les Hamaguchi noted that “skill-wise, we’re up there with all the top teams. But all the top teams, with the exception of Salmon Arm, are very big. We’re not a big club, so we had to try to make it up with good shooting and aggressive play. Still, we were way too tentative in the first and fourth quarters.”
In the other semi, the 4th-seeded Victoria Belmont Tomahawks upset the top-seeded Salmon Arm Jewels 83-58. The game was close early and tied at 29 near the end of the first half when a 10-0 run put Belmont ahead 39-39 at the break. Led by the passing of Lisa Koop and the powerful inside game of Denise Rehman, Belmont opened the second half with an 11-0 run and the outcome was never in doubt. Koop finished with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 16 assists. Rehman grabbed a phenomenal 24 boards and scored 24. “We took away the inside,” said Belmont coach Bill Spotswood told the Vancouver Sun. “We dominated with our size under the basket. They had no answer for it.” Salmon Arm coach Terry Michell said “they used Denise (Rehman) well. We had no defence for her.” Kim McLeod led the Jewels with 22. April Ollen added 10. The Jewels lack of heigh proved a liability. Their tallest player was 5-9. Belmont had a pair of 6-footes. Michell told the Salmon Arm Observor said “we said all year, if we came up against a team with a great guard and a post, we were in trouble. … We didn’t play a great game but they played almost a flawless game.” Spotswood said his troops “were experience enough so their press didn’t bother us.”
In the bronze medal match, the Salmon Arm Jewels edged the Richmond Colts 82-81 as Kim McLeod hit a pair of free throws with 16 seconds to play to give the Jewels an 82-80 lead. Tekki Brown paced the Jewels with 31. Kim McLeod added 19 and April Ollen 14. Tanya Pickerall paced the Colts with 18. Joanna Babiuk added 16. Colts coach Les Hamaguchi told the Richmond Review that “I think that was a great game to showcase girls basketball. I certainly enjoyed watching it. I’m really proud of the kids. If there’s anything close to being a tie in basketball, that game was it.” The Jewels led by nine in the fourth quarter but the Colts rallied to knot the score at 80 with 25 seconds to play. After McLeod hit a pair of free throws, Pickerall was 1-2 from the line with 8 seconds to play. A Babiuk midcourt bomb at the buzzer fell short. The Colts also included Carrie Zinegar, Trixie Cruz, Sarah Lorimer.
In the final, the New Westminster Hyacks easily handled 4th-ranked Victoria Belmont Tomahawks 58-46 as Kirsten Hanson scored 21 and Sarah Grant 16. Belmont was paced by Jenna McMath’s 14 points and Lisa Koop’s 11. The win ended an 18-year title drought for the Hyacks. It had also been 12 years since they’d made a final. The tone was set during the opening tip, which went to Belmont’s Jackie de Raadt, who made her way to the hoop before she realized she was going the wrong way. From that stage until the fourth quarter, the game belonged to the Hyacks. “We just didn’t hit the shots,” Tomahawks co-coach Bill Spotswood told the Vancouver Province. “We were just out of sync.” Belmont came alive late, outscoring the Hyacks 19-11 in the fourth quarter. But it was too little, too late in a game that left everyone mystified. After building a 20-8 first-quarter lead, the Hyacks scored only nine points in the second quarter. The Tomahawks answered with but a single point. Belmont star guard Lisa Koop had no points at the half, picking up three quick fouls and had to play with four fouls over the final 13:32 of the game. She finished with 11 points. The Tomahawks made just three field goals in the first half. Kirsten Hanson, meanwhile, hit 8-13 from the field and 5-9 from the line en route to tournament MVP honors. Hanson’s sisters, Heidi and Nikola, who toiled for the Simon Fraser Clan, phone her shortly before the game from the NAIA championships in Jackson, Tennessee to tell her “good luck” and “go out and play like it’s just a regular game.” Hyacks coach Bob Gair said the Tomahawks “were just as tight as a drum. We just let the people on their team shoot who we felt couldn’t shoot.” Tomahawks co-coach Cindy Cullen told the Vancouver Sun that “whatever came over us in the first half (3-35 from the floor), it was contagious. Everybody became afraid to shoot. All we needed was one to drop to break the spell we were under. We didn’t get it.” Gair told the Sun that “our strategy to was to contain Koop and take her out of the game. We hoped that the rest of their shooters would come up empty. We managed to bury them early.” The Hyacks led by as many as 25.
The bronze medalist Salmon Arm Jewels: Kim McLeod; Tekki Brown; April Ollen; Susan Hadath; coach Terry Michell
The silver medalist Victoria Belmont Tomahawks: Lisa Koop; Denise Rehman; Jenna McMath; Jackie de Raadt; Tracy Wondga; coach Bill Spotswood; coach Cindy Cullen
The gold medalist New Westminster Hyacks: Martha Craig; Andrea Nicholson; Kirsten Hanson; Tricia Grant; Sarah Grant; Jackie de Raadt; Meg Gilman; Megan Simmer; coach Bob Gair