In the opening round, held in Qualicum Beach: …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Mission Hatzic Crusaders pasted the defending champ Kamloops Westsyde Whundas 70-50. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions pounded the Kitimat Mount Elizabeth Eagles 97-51 as Alexis Dunkley scored 19, Marlene Rudman 18 and Beth Tomczyk 14. Laurie Wipsh led the Eagles with 15. …………………………………………………… The Victoria St. Michaels University Blue Jaguars clipped the Vernon Clarence Fulton Maroons 65-47. Melanie Grist led the Maroons with 33. The Maroons (coached by Neil Wear, manager Jody Hill, manager Larry Grist) also included Kim Exner, Tracy Rosman, Jennifer Folk, Naomi Chaytor, Katie Senger, Sarah Shannon, Cortnay Bentson, Sheri Balfour and Zoe Miller. …………………………………………………… The Campbell River Robron Breakers dispatched the North Vancouver Windsor Dukes 67-63 in overtime. …………………………………………………… The Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes dusted the Qualicum Beach Kwalikum Kondors 95-17. …………………………………………………… The Kamloops Westsyde Whundas defeated the Castlegar Stanley Humphries Rockets 58-54. …………………………………………………… The Vancouver Brittania Bruins crushed the Kelowna K.L.O. Cougars 70-43. …………………………………………………… The Vancouver Lord Byng Grey Ghosts defeated the Pitt Meadows Marauders 49-39.
In the quarterfinals, the 2nd seeded Mission Hatzic Crusaders defeated the Kamloops Westsyde Whundas 70-50 after leading 43-21 at the half. Whundas coach Bob Bridges told Kamloops This Week that his troops “didn’t have a lot of height, but they had a lot of heart. They played more of a team game than anything else.” The Whundas (coached by Bob Bridges) included Hillary Scott, Dayna Schweizer, Leah Stella, Gillian Knox, Julie Anderson, Toby Macdonald, Sandra Redford.
The Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes bombed the Victoria St. Michaels University Blue Jaguars 93-62 as Elisha Williams scored 17, Andrea Schaal 15, Natasha Johnson 14, Carrie Willson 12 and Leah Theesen 12. The Blue Jaguars (coached by Kim Poland, assisted by Jean Ives, manager Katie Leong) included Kate Green, Karen Edgell, Oona Ross, Lindy Yeates, Kirsten May, Tanja Boteju, Joanna Holdsworth and Melissa Sawyer.
The Vancouver Brittania Bruins defeated the Vancouver Lord Byng Grey Ghosts 34-22.
In the last quarterfinal, the Victoria Lambrick Park Lions stomped the Campbell River Robron Breakers 92-37 as Marlene Rudman scored 22, Alexis Dunkley 17, Becky Edwards 12 and Julie Deveson 10. The Breakers included Kim Smith.
In the semis, the top-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes defeated the Vancouver Brittania Bruins 67-57 as Emily King and Andria Schaal each scored 17.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Mission Hatzic Crusaders clipped the 3rd-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions 67-59.
In the bronze medal match, the Vancouver Britannia Bruins spanked the 3rd-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions82-67 as tournament MVP Amber Hall scored 58 (also reported as 53). The Lions (coached by Rocky Vitale) also included Alexis Dunkley, Marlene Rudman, Beth Tomczyk, Becky Edwards, Julie Deveson.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Mission Hatzic Crusaders handed the top-ranked Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes their second straight final game loss, by a 58-44 count, en route to a (34-2) season which saw the Crusaders lose only once in AA competition. One of Hatzic’s losses occurred at the hands of AAA champ New Westminster. The Crusaders were 3-1 against the Triple-A champ Hyacks. Hatzic took a 40-24 halftime lead but Prince George rallied in the second half with its full court press before the Crusaders took control again and breezed to a 58-44 victory. Jen Macdonell paced Hatzic with 18. Lisa Kranz added 16 and Jobi McKenzie 12. Crusaders coach Bruce Langford told the Vancouver Sun that his squad kept their heads up and didn’t let up for a second. “I tell you, the score may not have reflected it but my heart was pounding there in the second half. They were very aggressive but my kids just played wonderfully.” Condorette Andrea Schaal told the Prince George Gazette that “it was especially hard for players that had been on the team last year. We had gone through it before and so we wanted it a lot more than we had last year even. That last game defensively we were awesome but the offence didn’t click. We weren’t passing. Things weren’t clicking and our shots were off and stuff. It was the most frustrating thing. All I can say is it was a heartbreaker for me. … I guess we can always talk about ifs and stuff. You always think, if only we had played a bit different. If only we made a few shots, it would have helped. Like last year, we played our hardest and we played our best so there was really no regrets. But this year, we played our hardest defensively. But we know we could have done a lot better and that’s the worst feeling for me.” Carrie Willson said “I think we’re pretty much holding our heads high. We gave it everything we had. It’s hard to explain. We lost but we still did everything that we could. We didn’t give up at all until the clock hit zero. So you can’t feel bad about a game like that.” Natasha Williams paced the Condorettes with 17. Carrie Willson added 10. Condorettes coach Al Erricson said “it’s the type of season that most teams would be happy to have. It’s just maybe losing your last game that takes a little bit of time to adjust and recover from.”
The bronze medalist Vancouver Brittania Bruins: Amber Hall;
The silver medalist Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes: Andrea Schaal; Natasha Johnson; Carrie Willson; Emily King; Elisha Williams; Leah Theesen; Lisa Stewart; Lori Ewart; coach Al Erricson
The gold medalist Mission Hatzic Crusaders: Jen Macdonell; Lisa Krantz; Joby McKenzie; Anne Kranenberg; coach Bruce Langford