| (1) | U.B.C. | 74 | ||||||
| (4) | Winnipeg | 63 | Winnipeg | 55 | ||||
| (5) | Loyola | 56 | U.B.C. | 49 | ||||
| —–LAURENTIAN | ||||||||
| (2) | Laurentian | 62 | Laurentian | 59 | ||||
| (3) | New Brunswick | 55 |
Hosted by U.N.B. in Fredericton at Lady Beaverbrook Gym, the opening round of the 1975 finals saw the 4th-seeded Winnipeg Wesmen defeat the 5th-seeded Loyola U. Tommies 63-56. The Wesmenettes took control of the game from the start. Winnipeg was ahead 34-23 at the half. Darlene Bonney led Winnipeg with 18. Angie Johnson added 13, Rita Askinis 12, Eleanor Thompson 8, Cris Critelli 7, Georgina Perkins 3 and Bev Sauer 2. Winnipeg hit 7-12 from the line, while Loyola was 4-40. Liz Silcott led Loyola with 35. Elaine Betchinski added 9, Paddie Chiara 6, Malka Benjamin 4 and Carol English 2. Loyola coach Steve Forman noted that “the whole team was too big for us. Our inexperience hurt us in the first half but I thought we played a good second half. We had hoped that their shooting wouldn’t be as good as it was and in order to win, we knew we had to get good performances from the whole team. We got a typical performance from Liz Silcott. She’s been doing this all year. She has inspired the kids, taught them things and is just a great asset to the team.” Forman added that his squad just didn’t box out or board. “We didn’t expect to win. … Our problem was we didn’t box out and we didn’t go to the boards hard enough.” Winnipeg outshot Loyola 7-12 from the line to 4-10. Loyola was ahead 21-20 but faded late in the first half. Winnipeg coach Vic Pruden noted that “we are happy to get by the first game. I was scrappy and the girls are tired. We played very well but we had a space in the second half where we were tired. At times, we were in control and I’m just glad the girls hung in there.”
In the semis, the top-seeded U.B.C. Thunderbirds defeated the Winnipeg Wesmen 74-55 as Carol Turney scored 24, Kathy Burdett 16, Laurie Watson 7, Louise Zerbe 7, Nora Ballantyne 6, Rosemarie Sebelin 5, Carole Wilson 3, Judi Kent 3, Tara Smith 2 and Sarah Lindsay 1, while Sandra Tatchell was scoreless. UBC coach Sue Evans told the Fredericton Daily Gleaner that “at halftime, I told the girls that we had to play our own game and start moving the ball … I think they were nervous. … At times, we were static but we have a lot of depth on this team.” The Wesmenettes were led by Angie Johnson 20. Cris Critelli added 14, Eleanor Thompson 10, Darlene Bonney 4, Bev Sauer 4, Rita Aksinis 2 and Georgina Perkins 1. Turney proved the difference in a game featuring aggressive play at both ends. UBC took over in second half. Winnipeg coach Vic Pruden noted “we are capable of beating them. BC has a lot of pride and tonight they were better than us. It’s too bad that this is just a one game shot. Our whole team played well at times against a team like BC. We’ve had problems with inconsistency all year.”
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Laurentian Voyageurs defeated the 3rd-seeded New Brunswick Red Bloomers 62-55. Laurentian led 10-0 early and by 14 in the first half and by 36-30 at the break. UNB was ahead 49-48 with seven minutes to play when star Janet Proude injured her knee and was carried off the court. Sheila Strike gave Laurentian their first lead at 52-51 and the Voyageurs pulled away. Strike finished with 20. Hurley added 16, Sue Swain 10, Belanger 8, Mattson 4, Jennings 2 and Russel 2. Voyageurs coach Norm Vickery told the Fredericton Daily Gleaner that “we were worried about (Kim) Hansen and Sue (Swain) was the only person we had that could contain her … I was worried and we were lucky. Janet Porud had to leave the game at a critical time. It may have cost them the game but it’s hard to say what could have happened.” Kim Hansen led UNB with 18. Krista Rice (who’d been brought up from the jayvee team for the national tournament) added 10, Janet Goggin 8, Sylvia Blumenfeld 8, Joyce Pederson 6, Deb Holts 2, Ruth Henry 2 and Nelda Robbins 1, while Vicki Irvine, Dawn Wishart, Proude and Marilyn Watts were scoreless. Red Bloomers coach Connie Bothwell said “it’s the first time we’ve been pressed. You need competition to get prepared for this and we didn’t find it in our conference this year.”
In the consolation round, for a share of the bronze medal, New Brunswick nipped Loyola 89-88 in overtime as Blumenfeld drove for the winning layup with 25 seconds on the clock. The Red Bloomers trailed by 4 with 45 seconds to play but Vicki Irvine and Marilyn Watts hit buckets to knot the score at 80 and force overtime. Silcott gave Loyola an 84-83 lead with a pair of free throws. Krista Rice countered with a bucket for New Brunwick. Irvine answered with a field goal. Carol English gave Loyola an 88-87 lead, setting the stage for Blumenfeld’s winner. Loyola led 45-32 at the half. Kim Hansen paced the Red Bloomers with 21. Sylvia Blumenfeld added 18, Krista Rice 12, Joyce Pederson 10, Janet Goggin 8, Vickie Irvine 8, Nelda Robbins 8, Watts 2 and Holts 2, while Gillies and Henry were scoreless. Liz Silcott paced the Warriors with 42. Elaine Betchinski added 19, Sally Goffred 10, Malka Benjamin 2, Paddie Chiara 2, Carol English 2 and Seale 1.
In the final, the Lady Vees’ tough defence proved the difference as Laurentian handled U.B.C. 59-49 to hand the Thunderbirds just their second loss of the season. Coached by former U.B.C. coach Norm Vickery, who’d been at the helm of the Thunderbirds two years earlier, the Lady Vees were led by Ann Hurley 17, Michelle Belanger 16 and Sheila Strike 16. Carol Turney paced the T’Birds with 19. Tara Smith added 9, Burdett 8, Watson 4, Tatchell 4, Sebellin 4, Zerbe 2, Tait 2 and Kent 2. Thunderbirds coach Sue Evans told the Ubyssey that “they played a great game. Vickery is a good coach and his team really showed it. They were well-disciplined and aggressive.” The Voyageurs easily broke U.B.C.’s full-court pressure for transition layups. Vickery said “both teams played great defence. I know what a good team U.B.C. is, having coached some of the girls before. I’m proud of my team for winning.” Laurentian broke to a 14-2 lead as its press yielded major dividends. The title was Laurentian’s first in any sport and it inspired the student newspaper, The Lambda, to deliver the following story (reproduced in its entirety): “This past weekend in Fredericton, the Laurentian University Vees women’s basketball team defeated the UBC Thunderbirds to become National Champs. The Birds won the title last year, so the Vees knew they would have to play a fast, close game if they were to take the Championship away from UBC. The final score was Vees 59 Laurentian 49. Scoring for the Vees were Anne Hurley 17, Sheila Strike 16, Michelle Belanger with 16 also Gail [msp, Gayle] Russell and Kathy Jennings with four each and Sue Swain with two. Congratulations to all the ladies.” On the same page, more space was given to the winners of a chess tournament. A much longer story and two pictures identifying rosters was devoted to the women’s intramural hockey results that week. U.B.C. coach Sue Evans told the Fredericton Daily Gleaner that “we just couldn’t contain Sheila Strike. We tried the man-on-man defence and that didn’t work, so we tried zone defence and that didn’t work either.”
The co-bronze medalist New Brunswick Red Bloomers: Janet Proude; Kim Hansen; Sylvia Blumenfeld, Krista Rice; Joyce Pederson; Janet Goggin; Vickie Irvine; Nelda Robbins; Marilyn Watts; Holts; coach Connie Bothwell
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Wesmenettes: Chris Critelli; Angie Johnson; Darlene Bonney; Rita Askinis; Eleanor Thompson; coach Vic Pruden
The silver medalist British Columbia Thunderbirds: Carol Turney; Kathy Burdett; Louisa Zerbe; Sandy Tatchell; Judi Kent; Nora Ballantyne; Laurie Watson; Debbie Phelan; Rosemarie Sebellin; Tara Smith; Carol Wilson; Deretta Smith; Sarah Lindsay; Jane Broatch; coach Sue Evans
The champion Laurentian Voyageurs: Michele Belanger; Ann Hurley; Sheila Strike; Kathy Jennings; Karen Best; Cindy Feren-Williams; Laura Mattson; Donna Roman; Gayle Russell; Sue Swain; Kathy Williams-Shields; Joyce Wolfe; coach Norm Vickery; assistant Sandy Knox; manager Kathy Russell
In 1975, CWIAU passed a motion rotating the tournament through the conferences. Commencing in 1976, six teams would be invited to tourney, including two from the host conference.