In the quarterfinals, the Sunny Corner North & South Esk Cobras defeated the McAdam Warriors 56-50. The Warriors included Christy Carroll, Rachel Campbell, Elizabeth Campbell, Sarah Thorburn.
The Stanley Blue Devils dumped the Grand Manan Breakers 60-45. The Breakers included Stephanie Neves, Danielle Linton.
The Hartland Huskies defeated pasted the Boiestown Upper Miramichi Boas 67-48 as Meghan Craig scored 20 and Courtney Taylor 19. The Boas included Joni Ross, Misty Lyons.
In the last quarterfinal, the Harvey Lakers defeated whipped the Petitcodiac Panthers 75-49 as Vanessa Cartwright scored 15, Amanda Wood 14, and Rebecca Clark 10. The Lakers led 43-26 at the half. The Panthers included Libby Mason, Jennifer Black, Marcy Keith, Joanne Van Griest.
In the semis, the Sunny Corner North & South Esk Cobras defeated the Stanley Blue Devils 75-53 as Melissa Hare scored 29. “They were a lot taller than us but we just had to crash the boards,” Hare told the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. “We played a good defensive game and our offense was there. Everything was falling for us. We were up by 20 points so we knew we were going to do it. But we didn’t say anything. I didn’t crack a smile the whole game and waited until the final seconds. I was so happy. I am still in shock. I can’t believe we are going.” Vicky Anderson led the Blue Devils with 33.
In the other semi, the Hartland Huskies defeated the host Harvey Lakers 65-58 in overtime as Meghan Craig scored 41, including 25 in the second half. The Lakers led 25-24 at the half while the score was even at 52-52 at the end of regulation. Jessica Nevers added 8. Amanda Wood paced Harvey with 15. Jill Rowe added 13. The Huskies tailed by 14 with seven minutes to play but exploded for 14 unanswered points.
In the final, the Hartland Huskies defeated the Sunny Corner North & South Esk Cobras 61-52. Meghan Craig scored 36 points and nabbed 13 boards, pilfered 8 balls and dished 4 assists to lead the Huskies. “Not ever in my wildest dreams,” Craig told the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal when asked if she thought a championship was possible, given a pair of early season setbacks to Harvey. Craig added eight steals as she just missed a triple-double. Jenny Hill added 9, including a critical trey while Craig was on the bench late in the second half. Craig said “we all pulled it together as a team, started to work hard as a team and focused on what we wanted to accomplish this season. We brought it all together and I am quite proud of that.” The Huskies jumped to a 20-12 lead after 11 minutes. The Cobras repeatedly clawed back but the Huskies invariably had the answer. “They had a really good defence and it was hard to get inside,” said Cobra guard Melissa Hare. “We couldn’t work our plays around what they were doing.” Courtney Taylor added 10, along with 6 steals, Jenny Hill 9, while Jessica Nevers nabbed 6 boards. Hare and Natalie Waye each scored 12 to lead the Cobras. Amanda Astle added 9 and Natalie Way 8, along with 9 boards. Craig told the Fredericton Daily Gleaner that “this is the best feeling I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. It’s the greatest way to end a wonderful basketball career.” Craig said that she had a bad performance in the 1998 final, against Petitcodiac, in which she fouled out and the Huskies lost by one. “I had a bad showing, so I wanted to come back with a vengeance this time,” Craig said. Huskies coach Lawrence Kennedy said “when we played here two years ago, she played six minutes 26 seconds and that’s haunted her since. The biggest thing with her all week was ‘calm down, you don’t have to redeem yourself, go out and have some fun.’ But this was her mission tonight and she accomplished it.” Cobras coach Joe Nastsiuk said his troops couldn’t contain Craig. “We tried our hardest and we tried to make some adjustments, but she’s a heckuva ballplayer. We played back and forth with them all game, but congratulations to them. They earned it.” Craig said the Cobras are “an excellent team, they played an excellent game. But we just kept focused and stayed mentally tough.” Cobra Melissa Hare said “we played our best. I’m just happy we made it this far. They played a really good game. They had a really good defence and it was hard to get inside. We couldn’t work our plays around what they were doing.” Hare added that coach Joe Nastasiuk “pushed us. He had a lot to do with our success. He motivated us a lot.” Nastasiuk said “we have a lot of character on our team and I’m really proud of the girls. Who wouldn’t be? Hartland knew they were in a game right to the final minute.”
The co-bronze medalist Harvey Lakers: Vanessa Cartwright; Amanda Wood; Rebecca Clark; Jill Rowe; Alexis Cartwright;
The co-bronze medalist Stanley Blue Devils: Vicky Anderson;
The silver medalist Sunny Corner North & South Esk Cobras: Melissa Hare; Natalie Waye; Courtney Taylor; Amanda Astle; coach Joe Nastasiuk
The gold medalist Hartland Huskies: Meghan Craig; Jenny Hill; Jessica Nevers; Courtney Taylor; Julie Orser; coach Lawrence Kennedy