| (1) | Winnipeg | 96 | ||||||
| (8) | U.P.E.I. | 80 | Winnipeg | 75 | ||||
| (5) | Lethbridge | 73 | Lethbridge | 59 | Winnipeg | 70 | ||
| (4) | Toronto | 72 | ||||||
| —–WINNIPEG | ||||||||
| (2) | Laurentian | 84 | ||||||
| (7) | McGill | 65 | Laurentian | 54 | Victoria | 63 | ||
| (3) | Victoria | 83 | Victoria | 70 | ||||
| (6) | Western | 69 |
In the quarterfinals, the 5th-seeded Lethbridge Pronghorns edged the 4th-seeded Toronto Varsity Blues 73-72 on last minute field goals by Shannon Frier and Vanessa Upton. Each finished with 15 points. Andrea Hlady added 12. Lethbridge had led by 14 early and were ahead 38-33 at the half before Toronto rallied in the second half. “We didn’t come out with our heads in the game,” said Toronto coach Michelle Belanger. “We were not mentally into the game at the start and I’m not sure if it was nervousness or emotions.” In the second half the lead swung back and forth throughout the final 20 minutes before the Pronghorns won the game. Lethbridge coach Dori Rodzinyak said “they kept coming back at us but the girls didn’t panic and held their composure down the stretch.” Denise Scott paced Toronto with 20 points and 14 boards. Denise Scott paced the Blues with 19 points and 14 boards. Laurel Johnson added 18, Justine Ellison 13, along with 7 boards, and Heather Marlborough 12. The Blues (coached by Belanger, assisted by Leslie Dal Cin and Ned Yuzefowich) also included Laurie Pinkney, Yvonne Spiczynski, Kimberley Johnson, Andrea Kociancic, Kate Vrancart, Susan Brown, Agnes Cserhati, Mirjana Najdova, Lori Ryan and Rachel Dei-Amoah.
The top-ranked Winnipeg Wesmen whipped the 8th-seeded UPEI Panthers 96-80 as national player of the year Sandra Carroll scored 27 and Michelle Chambers 23. PEI kept it close in the first half with excellent outside shooting from Lori Knickle, who scored 21. “When I don’t score as many points as I usually do, someone else is there to pick up the slack,” Carroll said. “We have so many offensive weapons it doesn’t really matter if they stop me.” Wesmen coach Tom Kendall said “we really had to make some adjustments. It was a little nerve-racking in the first half but we played well when we had to.” The Panthers 9coached by Dave MacNeil, assisted by Tracy MacEachern and Brian Chambers) also included Hillary Watson, Heather Campbell, Kelly Copeland, Cathy Lawlor, Julie Dickinson, Amy Sharman, Stephanie Shive, Tara Nogler, Jennifer Sirois, Toby Morrell, Carolyn Deighan and Ann Nichols.
The 2nd-seeded Laurentian Voyageurs thrashed the 7th-seeded McGill Martlets 84-65 despite training by eight at the half. The Lady Vees opened the second half with a 23-8 run as they shed their nervousness. Sue Stewart scored 21 and Dianne Norman 14. McGill was led by Jane Ross’ 18 points. Debby Morse added 17 and 9 boards. Laurentian led 46-38 at the half. The Martlets (coached by Chris Hunter, assisted by Linda MacPherson) also included Vicky Tessier, Martina van der Vlist, Melanie Gagne, Allana Henderson, Jennifer Landry, Luce Mongrain, Annabelle Ambroise, Marie Leyne, Leslie Stevenson, Josee Deloretto and Sandra Veillette.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Victoria Vikings thrashed the 6th-seeded University of Western Ontario Mustangs 83-69. The Mustangs (coached by Bob Delaney, assisted by Cathy Casey and Bill Pargeter) included Michele Mommersteeg, Lori Bartolotta, Ayodele Bygrave, Michele Vesprini, Sylvia Kovacs, Joanne McAlpine, Casey Winegard, Tina Ryan, Nicole Fonseca-Sanchez, Paula Rich, Ann Hurtibise, Kathy Arcuri, Linda Cuda, Debra Wilson and Judy Pace.
In the semis, the Winnipeg Wesmen defeated the Lethbridge Pronghorns 75-59 as Michelle Chambers scored 28 and nabbed 9 boards. Diane Zunic added 18 while being chosen player of the game. Winnipeg led by 16 early but Lethbridge within one before Zunic hit a 50-foot jumper at the buzzer to give the Wesmen a 42-33 lead at the half and turn the momentum. “I knew I was going to take that shot because believe it or not I practice the shot all the time,” said Zunic. “I always have this dream that in the national final or something that one of those shots will win the game.” Andrea Hlady led the Pronghorns with 17 points and 8 boards. Joanne Tegart added 11 points and 13 boards, while Shari Jensen scored 10. “We played very hard and the kids never gave up,” said Pronghorn coach Dori Rodzinyak. “We played very up tight and never finished some shots we should have. We shot only 35 per cent and a lot of those were tuck-ins and layups. You can’t shoot that bad and expect to beat the No. 1 team in the country. It’s the least number of points they’ve scored in the last couple of weekends. They’ve, been scoring 80 to about 110 points the last while. In their last 15 games they’ve only scored under 75 points once. Defensively, we stopped them a few times and they made only a few runs. I think we beat ourselves and were not focused on the task at hand.” Winnipeg outrebounded Lethbridge 47-41.
In the other semi, the Victoria Vikings throttled the Laurentian Voyageurs 70-54 as Chris Van Aert scored 20. Van Aert hit a trey to open the second half, another to extend the lead to 45-36, and then drove for a layup as Victoria took a 53-38 lead and coasted to the win. The Vikings led 36-30 at the half. Voyageurs coach Peter Ennis told the Victoria Times-Colonist that “they outplayed us. We didn’t get the points from the people we neede to get the points. But give them credit because they put a great deal of pressure on us.”
In the bronze medal match, the Laurentian Voyageurs pounded the Lethbridge Pronghorns 85-57 as Sue Stewart scored 33 on 13-17 from the floor and 7-9 from the line. Dianne Norman added 21. Joanne Tegart paced the Pronghorns with 12. Andrea Hlady added 11 points, 6 boards and 6 assists. The Pronghorns (coached by Dori Johnson, assisted by Cal O’Brien, Lynette Taal and Ingeborg Pot) also included Shannon Frier, Vanessa Upton, Shari Jensen, Jenni Washburn, Lindy Westrop, Jill Carley, Trish Lorenz, Jody Hooker, Tanya Huggins, Shannon Hecker and Janice Gyorkos.
In the final, Winnipeg frittered away a 15-point lead but held on to defeat Victoria 70-63 as Sandra Carroll scored 20 and tournament MVP Michelle Chambers 17. But Tom Kendall noted that his team “wanted to win and would settle for nothing less, so I wasn’t too worried at the end when Victoria pulled to within five points.” Victoria coach Kathy Shields, who left after the season to become the coach of the national women’s team, attributed the loss to defensive lapses in the first half. Kendall relished the school’s first crown, noting that “finally, we’ve done everything else except this and now we’ve done it.” Shields said it was a sad end to her university coaching career. “All I saw was 12 very disappointed women that I’ve spent a lot of time with crying on the bench and I had a tough time trying to console them. I’m leaving and I’ll miss them dearly.” Winnipeg averaged 84.8 ppg on the season and sported an average victory margin of 22.6 points in 35 games. They had not lost since early in the year when they were nipped 71-61 by Alberta. Coach Tom Kendall, from Birmingham, England, hadn’t played basketball when he arrived in Luseland, Saskatchewan in 1969.
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Michelle Chambers (Winnipeg); Christine Van Aert (Victoria); Heather Bohez (Victoria); Diane Zunic (Winnipeg); Heather Marlborough (Toronto) and Dianne Norman (Laurentian)
The bronze medalist Laurentian Voyageurs: Dianne Norman; Sue Stewart; Tricia Stewart; Carolyn Swords; Andreana Robinson; Martha Sandilands; Tracey Hayman; Linda Carriere; Sarah Kieffer; Melanie Rathbone; Stacey Hann; Karen Arnott; Janice O’Shaughnessy; coach Peter Ennis; assistant Shirlene McLean; assistant Angie MacDonald; manager Tara Chester; therapist Don Fuller; SID Peter Campbell
The silver medalist Victoria Vikings: Tara Gallaway; Heather Bohez; Kristine Brown; Christina Van Aert; Sue Tomio; Andrey Dennison; Cherie Birtwhistle; Charlene Klasema; Rachel Sexton; Keri Anne Butterworth; Tamara Carruthers; Lisa Bright; Lisa Koop; coach Kathy Shields; assistant Jeff Speedy; NCI apprentice coach Kathy Keats; NCI apprentice coach Tracey Bowie; manager Helen Hamilton; trainer Marcel Charland; SID Greg Gidman; athletic director Wayne MacDonald
The champion Winnipeg Wesmen: Sandra Carroll; Sarah Meyers; Pam Flick; Sheri Telke; Heidi Rowley; Sandra Corby; Larisa Waschuk; Michelle Chambers; Andrea Hutchens; Diane Zunic; Jody Rock; coach Tom Kendall; assistant Keith Pruden; assistant Gail Kendall; assistant Tanya Mckay; manager Jennifer How; SID Ellen Wiens