In the opening round, held in Armstrong: …………………………………………………… The Winfield George Elliot Coyotes defeated the Prince George Kelly Road Roadrunners 68-63. Rhonda Brett led the Roadrunners with 24. The Roadrunners (coached by Bill Perrin) also included Stacey Hewlett, Naryn Watt, Tanys Johnson, Kim Thornton, Monique Bowers, Jennifer Preston. …………………………………………………… The Fernie Falcons nipped the host Armstrong Pleasant Valley Sinners 75-72 as Allana Destreich scored 43. Nikki Cox led the Sinners with 29. Shawna Anderson added 18. The Sinners (coached by Deb Murphy) also included Holly Dykstra, Shawn Jamieson Pam Jefcoat. Sinners coach Debbie Morgan told the Vernon Morning Star that her troops “just froze out thre. A lot of hard work over the last five years and the girls let their nerves and the pressure get to them. The kids have to learn how to handle the pressures of life. I’m more depressed than the kids about our loss.” Destreich said the Sinners “really didn’t pressure us that much throughout the game. They tried to halfcourt us, then they tried to zone defence us but they got down so much, nothing worked for them.” Jamieson pilfered the ball for a runout to give the Sinners a 64-63 lead. Later, Nikki Cox hit two free throws to draw Pleasant Valley within 74-72. …………………………………………………… The Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes clipped the West Vancouver Sentinel Spartans 68-55 as Jackie Richards scored 15, Kirstin Johns 14 and Marie Kelepouris 14. Maryann Moayeri led the Spartnas with 13. …………………………………………………… The Victoria Lambrick Park Lions crushed the Kitimat Mount Elizabeth Eagles 93-23 as Kerri-Anne Butterworth scored 18. Hazel Maxwell led the Eagles with 8. …………………………………………………… The Langley D.W. Poppy Redhawks dispatched the Kamloops Westsyde Whundas 73-54 as Danielle Moe scored 33. “We’re down by 16 until we hadn’t even started to spit,” Whundas coach Bob Bridges told Kamloops This Week. “I tried to alert them to it, but they were so tense. We fought back within 10 points three times.” Danielle Strother led the Whundas with 16. The Whundas (coached by Bob Bridges) also included Tammie Cail, Cindie Edamura, Megan Scott, Sandra Pasman, Tanya Davidson. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Vernon Clarence Fulton Maroons spanked the 11th-seeded Sidney Parkland Panthers 62-49 as Sharla Schwartz scored 15 and Joanna Haaf 12. The Panthers led 11-10 after one quarter as Maroon Dawn Collins picked up three quick fouls. Maroons coach Jack Fulton told the Vernon Morning Star that “we usually have foul trouble by our guards, not our forwards. I had players who finished the game with four fouls each. In our future games, we will to definitely stay out of foul trouble. It should get better from here on in. We were really tense.” The Maroons led 28-25 at the half. Haaf said “the girls were really nervous.” Collins said “I think I was just too tight. I wanted to play aggressively out there and maybe I tried a little too hard.” The Maroons took command in the fourth quarter when Shannon Henke hit four free throws. Natasha Eipot paced the Panthers with 12. Willow Cassidy added 10. The Panthers (coached by Marg Matcalfe) also included Jolane Hook, Lesley Lutes. Matcalfe told the Vernon Morning Star “we just didn’t rebound out there. They scored a lot of their points on second shots. We lacked intensity.” …………………………………………………… The Castlegar Stanley Humphries Rockets edged the Vancouver St. Patrick’s Celtics 58-55 as Kristy Lees scored 18. Leah Hernandez led the Celtics with 32. …………………………………………………… The Pitt Meadows Marauders nipped the Nanaimo John Barsby Bulldogs 58-57 as Claire Polomark scored 27. Caria Perela led the Bulldogs with 25. Jennifer Shade added 13 and Kira Torkko 9. The Bulldogs (coached by Nancy Stigings-Dunlop, assisted by Laura Clancy) also included Kara Kease, Michelle Fink.
In the quarterfinals, the Winfield George Elliot Coyotes defeated the Pitt Meadows Marauders x-x. The Marauders included Claire Polomark.
The Castlegar Stanley Humphries Rockets defeated the Fernie Falcons x-x. The Falcons (coached by John Mill) included Allana Oestreich, Celeste Mosley, Janna Cook, Denise Dilts, Melanie Merasco, Danielle Corkle, Barb Hutchinson, Carey Smith, Noralee Dilts and Shirley Berube.
The top-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions pounded the Princess George Duchess Park Condorettes 85-65. Condorettes coach Al Erricson told the Prince George Citizen that “our girls played really well. They have two really good players and about five very good players, so they’re hard to stop.” Kirsten Johns led the Condorettes with 23. Maria Kelepouris added 13 but Erricson said defensive player of the tournament Jackie Richards “held one their top scorers, Carrie Ann Butterworth, last year’s MVP, to eight points, so she did a really good job on her. Their other big girl, Heidi Phillips, the girl from Cranbrook that wasn’t allowed to play in the zone, well there was an injunction that allowed her to play, and she had 27 points, so she really hurt us.” Lambrick Park was plagued by recruiting allegations all season.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Langley D.W. Poppy Red Hawks dispatched the Vernon Clarence Fulton Maroons 72-62 as Dani Moe scored 18. The Red Hawks led 19-14 after one quarter on the shooting of Kate Sellars and Sheri-Lynn George. The Maroons led 35-31 at the half as Shannon Henke nailed a trey and four free throws. But Red Hawk coach Grant Inkster shifted his troops to a halfcourt press at half-time and the Maroons appeare befuddled. Inkster told the Vernon Morning Star that “we try and run and fast tempo from the opening buzzer. The other team usually runs out of steam by the third quarter and that’s what happened to Fulton.” Moe said “their players lack of experience showed through. We just started playing our game – speed, and our tempo.” Vesna Belicic paced the Maroons with 18. The Maroons (coached by Jack Smith) included Dawn Collins, Sharla Schwartz, Joanna Haaf, Shannon Henke, Hilary Beck. Smith told the Vernon Morning Star “we started to get in foul trouble again but this time, it didnd’t happen quite as fast. … They were beating our zone defence. They also had good perimeter shooters.” Schwartz said “(Moe’s) good. They pass the ball around a lot and our passes were off. We weren’t used to playing at that pace.”
In the semis, the top-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions torched the Castlegar Stanley Humphries Rockets 78-46 as Heidi Phillips scored 20. Carolyn Briscoe led the Rockets with 17.
In the other semi, the Langley D.W. Poppy Red Hawks whipped the Winfield George Elliott Coyotes 66-51 as Marcie Boldt scored 23, Sherri-Lynn George 15. Kirsten Johns led the Coyotes with 32.
In the bronze medal match, the Castlegar Stanley Humphries Rockets spanked the Winfield George Elliott Coyotes 83-68 as Carolyn Briscoe scored 31. Kristen Johns led the Coyotes with 37.
In the final, the Victoria Lambrick Park Lions made it four titles in a row by defeating the Langley D.W. Poppy Red Hawks 65-52 as Kerri-Anne Butterworth scored 27. Danielle Moe led the Red Hawks with 17. Sherri-Lynn George added 8. Red Hawks coach Grant Inkster told the Langley Advance “to get to that that stage of the tournament (the final), we played above ourselves.”
The bronze medalist Castlegar Stanley Humphries Rockets: Carolyn Briscoe; Kristy Lees;
The silver medalist Langley D.W. Poppy Red Hawks: Danielle Moe; Sherri-Lynn George; Kate Sellars; Angie Singbeil; Leanne Taylor; Marci Boldt; coach Grant Inkster
The gold medalist Victoria Lambrick Park Lions: Kerri-Anne Butterworth; Rachel Sexton; Jen Songhurt; Alexis Dunkley; Janice MacIntosh; Heidi Phillips; coach Rocky Vitale