In the opening round, held in Maple Ridge: …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes defeated the 15th-seeded Fernie Falcons 104-41 as Emily King scored 28, Maggie Vukovic 20 and Vicki Blank 19. The Falcons (coached by John Mill) included Sue-Ann Pfeiffer, Corrine Heibert, Lea Arcandia, Liz Wilcox, Kristy Ingram, Kyla McDonald, Jolene Johnson, Val Roberts, Jen Demarchi and Rose Dilts. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions crushed the 16th-seeded Prince Rupert Rainmakers 93-20 as Carli Halpenny scored 25. “I think people here at Double A expect us to play a perfect game. They think that because we beat Spectrum, we beat Hatzic, that we should walk on air,” Lions coach Rocky Vitale told the Vancouver Province. The Rainmakers included Shawna Yates. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Vernon Kalamalka Lakettes defeated the 9th-seeded Langley D.W. Poppy Red Hawks 62-44 as Sumner Anderson scored 29 and Kristine Teichman 17. “Our team was hot, outpacing our opposition in all respects,” Lakers coach Nadine McGregor told the Vernon Morning Star. Lisa Tindall paced the Red Hawks with 18. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Kelowna K.L.O. Cougars nipped the 11th-seeded Surrey Elgin Park Orcas 57-54 as Cathy Ulmer scored 21. Kelly Vesseling paced the Orcas with 20. The Orcas also included Jen Duff. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Vancouver Little Flower Academy Angels stunned the 7th-seeded Castlegar Stanley Humphries Rockets 85-84 as Jessica Thompson scored 22. Shauna Harshenin paced the Rockets with 32. The Rockets also included Dionne Birch. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Victoria St. Michaels University Blue Jaguars defeated the 12th-seeded Kamloops Westsyde Whundas 73-58. The Blue Jaguars led 56-51 after three quarters. Sandra Redford paced the Whundas with 34. The Whundas also included Eilidh Strecha, Kirstine Niemi. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Pitt Meadows Marauders clocked the 11th-seeded Ladysmith 49ers 70-29 as Becky Popeniuk scored 20. Erica Christensen led the 49-ers with 13. The 49ers also included Marlees McCrory. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Vancouver Lord Byng Grey Ghosts edged the 14th-seeded Vanderhoof Nechako Valley Viqueens 64-63 as Ivana Marcinko scored 20. Celina Moore paced the Viqueens with 17. The Viqueens (coached by Doug Harshbarger, assisted by Gary Moore) also included Trina Hutchins, Karli Gulbranson, Lisa Griffith, Anita Albertson, Carolyn Wiebe, Diane Fawcett, Teija Guilliam, Jen Fryatt, Stacy Pletz, Britt Smilinski and Mandy Hutchins.
In the quarterfinals, the 2nd-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes past the 10th-seeded Vancouver Little Flower Academy Angels 82-48 as Emily King scored 29 and Vicki Blank 20. The Angels included Carly Paxton, Jessica Thompson.
The top-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions crushed the 8th-seeded Vernon Kalamalka Lakettes 95-50 as Carly Halpenny scored 26. Kristine Touchman paced the Lakettes with 14. The Lakettes (coached by Nadine McGregor) included Sena Anderson, Summer Anderson, Dana McPherson.
The 5th-seeded Victoria St. Michaels University Blue Jaguars clipped the Pitt Meadows Marauders 62-45. The Marauders included Becky Popeniuk.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Vancouver Lord Byng Grey Ghosts defeated the 6th-seeded Kelowna K.L.O. Cougars 60-50 as Ivana Marchinko scored 34. Tara Schieppe led the Cougars with 16. The Cougars included Tara Lowrick, Christine Ulmer.
In the semis, the Victoria Lambrick Park Lions defeated Victoria St. Michaels University Blue Jaguars 73-45 as Becki Edwards scored 18.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes defeated the Vancouver Lord Byng Grey Ghosts x-x.
In the bronze medal match, the Vancouver Lord Byng Grey Ghosts defeated the Victoria St. Michaels University Blue Jaguars 55-51. The Blue Jaguars (coached by Kim Poland, assistant Jean Ives, managers Michelle Butler and Helen Lamala) included Claire Ezzedin, Emily Clough, Rosanne Boult, Kristina Kerr, Kathryn Wynn, Deanna Age, Tanja Boteju, Joanna Holdsworth, Jessica White and Carys Jones.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes defeated the top-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions 52-47 as Emily King scored 21 while being chosen player of the game and tourney MVP. Condorettes coach Dave Holmes told the Prince George Citizen that “they did it all. It was awesome to watch as a coach because it’s got nothing to do with X’s and O’s, it’s got to do with character and that was the difference. They wanted it that much more. … To have kids go through all that they did and do what they did. … It was a very emotional game, just to see the kids on the floor. It was a lot of adversity, I’ll tell ya. Every kid on the floor. Everyone did their job.” Elisha Williams had missed the first two games of the tournament with pneumonia but played the final. Jay-Anna Major had spent the night in the hospital with food poisoning but played the final. Jennifer Wagner played with an ankle injury. Holmes said “Lambrick had always won their games because they had simply outscored other teams. We (ran a defence) where we basically didn’t check a couple of players and challenged their grade 11s to be shooters and they didn’t step up.” The Condorettes took a four-point lead with two minutes to play when Emily King fouled out, prompting them to shift into a ball-control game. “That was sort of the telling point when Emily was out,” Holmes said. “And everybody went in and we continued to maintain the intensity and be completely calm and confident. They (Lambrick Park) didn’t know really how to foul. They’d never had to foul a team to stay in the game.” Holmes had to shave his head after the final as a result of losing a bet with his troops that they couldn’t repeat as provincial champs. The loss was a disappointment for Pride coach Rocky Vitale, but he has managed to build a tremendous program at the Gordon Head School over the years. “A program like we have takes time to develop,” said Vitale. Vitale has a very American approach to winning. He makes no apologies for having a high school basketball program which has but one aim each March. “I certainly don’t mind the word [program]’,” Vitale, a transplanted American who grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, and attended the University of Miami on a baseball athletic scholarship told the Victoria Times-Colonist. “In fact, I’m proud to say that this basketball program is my program. The Grade 8s and the neighborhood kids coming up around our school are my future. In some schools, it’s very fragmented with the midget and junior teams being separate from the senior team. Nobody gains from that and the kids are the losers. We have one cohesive program and that has helped in our success.”
The bronze medalist Vancouver Lord Byng Grey Ghosts: Ivana Marchinko;
The silver medalist Victoria Lambrick Park Lions: Becki Edwards; Carli Halpenny; Tina Thompson; Tricia Basi; coach Rocky Vitale
The gold medalist Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes: Emily King; Elisha Williams; Jay-Anna Major; Jennifer Wagner; Vicki Blank; Maggie Vukovic; Rachel Johnson; Joanna Gnilica; coach Dave Holmes; assistant Louise Holmes