Qualifiers: winner of each of the six zones; a representative from Brandon and the provincial B champion. The system had been used since the start of the provincial tourney. The girls did not adopt the formula introduced for the boys in 1979.
In the quarterfinals, the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Dakota Lancers defeated 7th-seeded Winnipeg Windsor Park Royals 59-48 as Val Pankratz scored 12. Beatrice Dyce led the Royals with 17. The Royals also included Dianne Tipper.
The 3rd-seeded River East Kodiaks dusted the 6th-seeded Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings 65-55 as Cheryl Cote scored 23 and Patti Douglas 16. The Kodiaks led 33-14 at the half. Janet McMahon led the Vikings with 21. Lei-Anne Sharratt and Virginia Thompson each added 8. “Patti had both ankles injured at one point this year,” Kodiaks coach Dick Blais told the Winnipeg Free Press. “But the girls are playing well now.” The Vikings (coached by Stew Farnell) also included Tracy Adams, Krista Einarson, Florence Zimmer, Angela Foster, Danielle Daniels, Allison Johnston, Linda Rust.
The 4th-seeded Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers clubbed the 5th-seeded Winnipeg John Taylor Pipers 77-56. St. John’s coach Cheryl Kristjanson told the Winnipeg Free Press that “it was good to get this one over with. You never know how games between fourth and fifth seeded teams will go.” Liz Poulin led the Pipers with 18. Donna Faryon added 16. Sharon Pohl paced the Pipers with 20. The Pipers also included Naomi Collins, Diane Howarth, Maureen Switzer, Sharon Pohl, Dawn Todd, Laurice Wilson.
In the last quarterfinal, the top-seeded Kelvin Clippers stomped the 8th-seeded Roblin Goose Lake Angels 75-42 as Marg Hunsberger scored 21. Evelyn Ostrowski led the Angels with 19. The Angels (coached by Dave Cooke and managed by Donna Kozmeniuk and Kelly Hudema) also included Deb Andres, Pat Piwniuk, Sharon Radwanski, Marg Liske, Linda Hawryluk, Ruth Borchardt, Monica Clearwater, Gloria Anhalt, Donna Bouvier and Cheryl Markosky.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Dakota Lancers defeated the 3rd-seeded Winnipeg River East Kodiaks 57-54 as Val Pankratz scored 14, Leslie Wright 12 and Bonnie Loewen 10. With starters Leslie Wright, Bonnie Loewen and Susan Ferguson in foul trouble, Glenda Sokol, Colleen Johnson and Patti MacAulay came off the bench to deliver sterling performances, Dakota coach Dennis Alvestad told the Winnipeg Free Press. “I think that was the turning point. They came in while we held a 10-point lead and lost only five points by the half. … I think our press rattled them quite a bit.” Cheryl Cote led the Kodiaks with 17. Patti Douglas added 11 and Diana Quartel 10.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers defeated the 4th-seeded Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers 58-53 as Marg Hunsberger scored 18, Cheryl Susinski 18 and Karen Ridd 10. Rita Beaulieu led St. John’s (coached by Cheryl Kristianson) with 18. Wendy Chan added 13.
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Winnipeg River East Kodiaks dispatched the 4th-seeded Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers 44-31 as Diane Quartel scored 20. The Tigers (coached by C Kristjanson) included Leah Beaulieu, Rita Beaulieu, Wendy Chan, Donna Faryon, Liz Poulin.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Dakota Lancers defeated the top-seeded Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers 60-55. The Clippers, who’d lost only once all season, were ahead 12-10 at the quarter and 27-26 at the half. The Lancers led 43-41 at the three-quarter mark. Coach Dennis Alvestad told the Winnipeg Free Press that the difference proved to be a third-quarter press. “We had to throw in our press to get them to change their offence. We also told our kids to change off and get the ball inside to Leslie Wright or reverse it back to Sue Ferguson for the shot.” Wright scored 18 despite playing with a taped right hand and thumb. Val Pankratz added 16 and Annette Pederson 10. Marg Hunsberger and Cheryl Susinski each scored 14 for Winnipeg Kelvin. Jennifer Finch added 12. “As always, Leslie (Wright) was the leader out there,” said Alvestad. “But the real key was that we didn’t have to rely on any one player all year. We found that when we had to, we could go to anyone and they would do the job.” Pankratz said “our plan was more or less to just do what we have been doing all year. We knew, though, that we would have to stop Hunsberger. We played in a zone, so she wasn’t anybody’s particular check, but since Bonnie Loewen was on that side, she covered her most of the time.” Kelvin coach Cathy Dubesky felt the difference was that “we had to go into the zone early in the second quarter because of fouls. We managed to stop Wright (Leslie), but the rest of her teammates picked up the slack.” Kelvin’s Karen Ridd said “they were a very good team. They played good defence.”
The bronze medalist Winnipeg River East Kodiaks: Diana Quartel; Cheryl Cote; Patti Douglas; Deb Broszeit; Carol Beyak; Lee Heinisch; Lori Farley; coach Dick Blais
The silver medalist Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers: Marg Hunsberger; Cheryl Susinski; Karen Ridd; Jennifer Finch; Sue Coleman; coach Cathy Dubesky
The gold medalist Winnipeg Dakota Lancerettes: Colleen Johnson; Sue Ferguson; Leslie Wright; Annette Pedersen; Patti Macaulay; Coleen Carson; Donna Puttaert; Val Pankratz; Christine Kuzyk; Glenda Sokol; Bonnie Loewen; Lynne Pearson; coach Dennis Alvestad; trainer Doug Wright; manager Cathy Salzen; manager Colleen Carson