In the wildcard games: …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Garden City Gophers rallied from a 21-6 deficit in the second quarter to defeat the Silver Heights Huskies 59-47. Silver Heights lead dissipated when Kim Adams picked up her third foul in the second quarter. Barb Gador led the Gophers with 16. Sharon Granovsky added 11 and Robyn Singer 10. Adams and Pam Mason each had 12 for Silver Heights. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Westgate Knights defeated Dakota Lancers 57-37. A double team on Westgate’s Heidi Neufeld opened the door for Cindy Janzen as she scored 17 for the Knights. Sherri Derksen added 11 and Linda Schroeder 10. Although she only scored seven, Neufeld nabbed 14 rebounds. Wendy Koop and Lori Reid each had 12 for Dakota. The Lancers also included Graham, Deman, McLeod, Oades, Walker.
In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans defeated the Winnipeg Grant Park Pirates 65-32 as Carol Ploen scored 17. Pam McDonald scored 17 for the Pirates. …………………………………………………… The Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen defeated the 6th-seeded Gordon Bell Panthers 56-53 as Sara Conlin scored 23 and Angela Peperin 22. Tammi Benson iced the win with a pair of free throws with 12 seconds to play. The Plainsmen led 23-20 at the half. Melinda Debber paced the Panthers with 19. The Panthers also included Wendy Ringland, Marta Becker, Val Mckenzie, Steph Appleay. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions dusted the Winnipeg Garden City Gophers 64-39 as Jill Mathez scored 30 and Cathy Mattson 15. Sharon Granovsky paced the Gophers with 12. The Gophers also included Robyn Singer. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg River East Kodiaks clocked the Winnipeg Pierre Radisson Raiders 53-32 as Sylvia Feenstra scored 17 and Tanis Brown 14. Laura Graham led Radisson with 9. The Raiders also included Susan Zuk, Renata Chlevoic, Tana Kunz, Jackie Mager. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Westwood Warriors edged the Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons 56-50 as Lori Klassen scored 20. Cindy Penner led the Maroons with 10. The Maroons also included Cindy Mitterndorfer, Rosa Perrillo, Lisa Talarico. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings whipped the Winnipeg Nelson McIntyre Normacs 76-52 as Sharon Simpkin scored 20 and nabbed 8 boards. Angela Foster added 16 and Deb Belinsky 14. Lori Courchaine paced the Normacs with 28. Jackie St. Hilaire added 22. “Those two girls just gave us fits,” Vikings coach Stew Farnell told the Brandon Sun. “Especially in the first half. Courchaine got 22 points in the first half. She really is quick and was dribbling through us and scoring on layups. In the second half, we all but double-teamed her. We wagged a lot and helped out a lot. The Vikings hit 33-83 from the floor. “That’s good shooting,” Farnell said. “In fact, that’s normal for us. … about average.” The Normacs also included Louise Courchain, Patty Gingers. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Kildonan East Reivers nipped the Winnipeg Westgate Mennonite Knights 44-40 as Cathy Sudletsky scored 22. Jocelyn Funk led the Knights with 14. The Knights also included Sindy Janzen, Heidi Neufeld. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg John Taylor Pipettes clipped the Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers 64-54 as Theresa Wickendon scored 23. Amber McIntyre led the Tigers with 23. The Tigers also included Seeta Plantz, Audrey Walz.
In the quarterfinals, the Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans defeated the Winnipeg Kildonan East Reivers 62-39 as Carrie Triffo hit 22 and Carol Ploen 16. Kathy Sudletsky led Kildonan East with 15. The Reivers also included Carol Sudletsky, Jane Thomas, Jane Wedderburn, Sherry Turman, Coryn Calvert.
The Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen edged the Winnipeg John Taylor Piperettes 47-44. Sharon Shepherd iced the win with a free throw with 12 seconds to play. “We played really well,” Plainsmen coach Dwayne Carter-Squire told the Brandon Sun. “We had a couple of 10-point leads and they came back on us both times. If we had let leads like that get away on us last year, we would have gotten blown out.” The Plainsmen led 26-25 at halftime. Sara Conlin paced the Plainsmen with 16. Angela Peterson added 15 and Tammy Benson 13. Angela Mol paced the Piperettes with 13. The Piperettes (coached by Paul Granovsky) also included Paula Wickenden, Debbie Swidinsky, Cindy Stammen, Kerry Naughler, Donna McKay.
The Winnipeg Westwood Warriors dispatched the top-seeded Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings 55-49. The Warriors “played fantastic, but nothing over their heads,” Westwood coach Addy Ryngach told the Winnipeg Free Press. “They never let their concentration sag. I think they had written us off, but by the second half their concentration was off. They were taking the shots, but the ball wasn’t going in for them.” Chris Rainsberger led Westwood with 19. Lori Klassen added 13. Deb Belinsky paced the Vikings with 18. “We did a lot of things that are uncharacteristic of us,” Vikings coach Stew Farnell told the Brandon Sun. “But Westwood deserved to win. They just plain beat us.” The Vikings (coached by Stew Farnell, Larry Rhodenbush and Frank Bauche) also included Patti White, Angela Foster, Kathy Fahilly, Candis Caryk, Sharon McDonald, Sharon Simpkins, Ferguson.
In the last quarterfinal, the Winnipeg River East Kodiaks defeated the Glenlawn Lions 68-56 as Tanis Brown scored 26 and Sylvia Feenstra 14. Jill Mathez led the Lions with 30. The Lions also included Laura Smith, Cathy Mattson.
In the semis, the Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans defeated the Brandon Crocus Plains Plainswomen 52-46. The game was tied at 12 after one quarter, Crocus Plains was ahead 27-22 at the half but Vincent Massey led 33-32 at the three-quarter mark. “We had never played them before, so we didn’t know what to expect,” said Ploen. The Plainsmen’s height advantage held them in good stead in the first half but “we went from a high 1-4 to a low 1-4 and got Carol (Ploen) inside,” said Trojans coach Dave McNabb. “So instead of shooting from 10 feet out we were shooting from eight feet and closer. We also started running more in the second half and it worked out well.” Carol Ploen scored 16, Allison Smith 15, Jody Johnston 11 and Carrie Triffo 10. Sara Conlin led Crocus Plains with 17. Angie Peterson added 15 and Tammy Benson 14. “Now maybe I can settle down,” said McNabb. “The last time we were in this (provincial A) was in 1975 and it was fun. No one expected us to go anywhere and we breezed into the playoffs. Now everyone has picked us as the team to beat and there’s all that pressure.”
In the other semi, the Winnipeg Westwood Warriors nipped the Winnipeg River East Kodiaks 36-34 in a tight defensive affair. The first bucket wasn’t scored until five minutes into the contest. Winnipeg Westwood’s Chris Rainsberger hit the insurance free throw with 25 seconds to play. Coach Addy Ryngach was confident Rainsberger would hit one of two and she did. Winnipeg Westwood got the rebound on the second free throw and ran out the clock. Rainsberger finished with 13 points. Lori Klassen added 12, Joanne Campbell 5, Laurie Tugwell 4 and Cathy Lethbridge 2. Winnipeg River East, which lost Tanis Brown to a sprained ankle in the third quarter, was paced by Lori Young’s 10 points. Sylvia Feenstra added 8, Brenda Boroski 6, Tanis Brown 6, Patti Phillips 2 and Darlene Enns 2. Ryngach said that the loss of Tanis Brown of River East with a sprained ankle in the third quarter hurt the Kodiak’s chances, but added that her own team’s defence was the real key. “They really held us in there. Laurie Tugwell is always back on the press. She has a good pair of hands.”
In the final, the Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans thumped the Winnipeg Westwood Warriors 67-52 as tourney MVP Carol Ploen scored 19 and all-star Allison Smith 21. Lori Klassen led Winnipeg Westwood with 24. Chris Rainsberger added 17. “It was a tough game,” Trojans coach Dave McNabb told the Winnipeg Free Press. “We went from a 14 to a one-point lead.” Vincent Massey was up 20-12 at the quarter and 34-33 at the half. “We had worked on breaking the press and it was working for us. But during the game, I guess the girls forgot it. But they showed a lot of guts in coming back,” McNabb said. The Trojans turned their program around after looking mediocre early in the season. McNabb said he told them “they’d get what they deserved.” After the title win, McNabb said “I just came from the dressing room and told the girls they got what they deserved.”
The co-bronze medalist Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen: Angela Peterson; Sara Conlin; Tammy Benson; Sharon Shepherd; Shannon Palmer; Heather Turton; Brenda McLean; coach Dwayne Carter-Squire
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg River East Kodiaks: Sylvia Feenstra; Tanis Brown; Lori Young; Brenda Boroski; Patti Phillips; Darlene Enns; Lilli Epp; Eileen Boris; Esther Nagtegal; Karen Kruzenga; coach Dick Blais
The silver medalist Winnipeg Westwood Warriors: Lori Klassen; Chris Rainsberger; Joanne Campbell; Laurie Tugwell; Cathy Lethbridge; Cheryl Klassen; Lisa Coote; Shelli Misselbrook; Lise Fraser; coach Addy Ryngach
The gold medalist Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans: Carol Ploen; Allison Smith; Carrie Triffo; Jody Johnston; coach Dave McNabb