In the interzone playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Swan River Swan Valley Tigers defeated the Dauphin Clippers x-x. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans dusted the Swan River Swan Valley Tigers 95-54 as Jamie Adams scored 22, Karen More 18, Becky McCannell 16, Kirsten Davies 16 and Candace Deville 10. Lana Stewart led the Tigers with 19. Kyla Knispal added 14. …………………………………………………… In another interzone final, the Warren Wildcats clipped the Winnipeg Westwood Wings 72-61 as Courtney Leary scored 14, Michelle Cassils 14 and Des MacFarlane 14.
In the quarterfinals, held in Warren, the top-seeded host Wildcats trounced the 8th-seeded The Pas Margaret Barbour Spartans 104-47 as Des MacFarlane scored 38, Jodi Chartrand 14, Kristy Braun 10, Monica Cassils 10, Courtney Leary 10, Ashley MacFarlane 8, Sheila Tully 4, Candace Chartrand 4, Morgan Smith 2 and Michelle Cassils 2. Streit led the Spartans with 16. The Wildcats led 43-24 at the half.
The 4th-seeded Thompson R.D. Parker Trojans defeated nipped the 5th-seeded Portage Trotters 43-41.
The 3rd-seeded Winkler Garden Valley Zodiacs crushed the 6th-seeded Dauphin Clippers 64-36. “I think we could have done better, but it was all of these girls first time at provincials and I think it was a little intimidating,” coach Joanne Derworiz told the Dauphin Herald. Tiff Penner led the Clippers with 17. The Clippers (coached by Derowriz) also included Steph Penner, Cherise Goran, Christina Hudson, Jennifer McPhail, Kathy Hrehirchuk, Natasha Ryz, Brie Goran, Amber Britsky, Francine Compton.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans whipped the 7th-seeded Winnipeg Windsor Park Royals 91-35 as Becky McCannell scored 18. Karen More added 15 and Melanie Sprung 15.
In the semis, the top-seeded Warren Wildcats defeated the 4th-seeded Thompson R.D. Parker Trojans 79-51 as Monica Cassils scored 18, Kristy Braun 16, Des MacFarlane 12, Jodi Chartrand 11, Ashley MacFarlane 8, Michelle Cassils 8, Courtney Leary 4 and Candace Chartrand 2. Charlene McIvor paced the Trojans with 21.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans defeated the 3rd-seeded Winkler Garden Valley Zodiacs 70-50 as Karen More scored 15 and Kirsten Davies 13.
In the bronze medal match, the 4th-seeded Thompson R.D. Parker Trojans nipped the 3rd-seeded Winkler Garden Valley Zodiacs 43-41. The Zodiaks included Jess Wiebe, Jane Wiebe, Helen Letkeman, Rhonda Dueck.
In the final, the top-seeded Warren Wildcats defeated the 2nd-seeded Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans 90-75 to capture their first AAA crown and their fifth consecutive provincial title, having won the previous four AA titles. The Spartans led 10-9 after one quarter but the Wildcats rallied to a 31-26 lead at the half. Both squads played full-court pressure for the full four quarters. “Two turning points in the game were midway through the third quarter when our press turned three steals into six points and again mid-way through the fourth quarter when we scored six points on three steals after they had closed the gap to eight points,” Warren coach Randy Lasiuk told the Interlake Spectator. Point guard Des MacFarlane paced the Wildcats with 20. Kristy Braun added 18, Michelle Cassils 18, Ashley MacFarlane 12, Courtney Leary 9, Monica Cassils 6 and Jodie Chartrand 3, while playing just spot duty with a knee injury. Becky McCannell led the Spartans with 27. Kirsten Davies added 17, Karen More 16 and Jamie Adams 8. “This has been our most successful season of the past five because of the number of 3A and 4A teams we played,” stated coach Lasiuk. “However, all players on the previous four championship teams should feel part of our accomplishment as we wouldn’t be here without their efforts. The girls are very unselfish, always play as a team and our upbeat tempo and full court press have contributed to our record (31-2). We set goals, believe in ourselves, work hard and are motivated to be the best that we can be.” MacFarlane said “I was overwhelmed with emotions at the buzzer. Happy and excited to realize we had won a very tough game, but sad to know that our high school basketball career was over. … Our coach is awesome. We sometimes were mad at the tough drills in practice but it all paid off in the end.” Spartans coach Dave Malowski told the Brandon Sun that “we came out in the second half and we weren’t in there to play for the first five minutes. They went on a bit of a roll and got up by 20 with five minutes gone in the second half.”
The bronze medalist Thompson R.D. Parker Trojans: Charlene McIvor; Terri Parsons;
The silver medalist Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans: Kristen Davies; Becky MacCannell; Karen More; Melanie Sprung; Jamie Adams; Jennifer Crookshanks; Miranda Martens; coach Mike Hill; coach Dave Malowski
The gold medalist Warren Wildcats: Deserai MacFarlane; Kristy Braun; Monica Cassils; Jodie Chartrand; Michelle Cassils; Ashley MacFarlane; Candace Chartrand; Morgan Smith; Sheila Tully; Cortney Leary; coach Randy Lasuik; manager Stephanie Rusaw