REGULAR SEASON
| Victoria | 18-2 | 25-2 | Kathy Shields | ||||||
| Calgary | 16-4 | 22-11 | Shawnee Harle | ||||||
| Alberta | 15-5 | 24-11 | Trix Baker | ||||||
| U.B.C. | 12-8 | 16-14 | Debbie Huband | ||||||
| Saskatchewan | 6-14 | 9-21 | Lisa Thomaidis | ||||||
| Trinity Western | 3-17 | 3-19 | Rebecca Hays | ||||||
| Lethbridge | 1-19 | 1-22 | Dori Johnson | ||||||
Playoff non-qualifier:
Lethbridge Pronghorns: Sheryl Webster, Courtney Fraser, Stacey Gammon, Lisa Prosser, Melissa Metz, Kirsten Davies, Tessa West, J’Anna Aitchison, Jennifer Neufeld, Diane Haley, Amanda Walker, Tanya Beasley, Nicole Farley, coach Dori Johnson, assistant Lynette Taal, assistant Todd Warnick, trainer Alisha Brown-Wint, trainer Tom Rodzinyak
In the quarterfinals, the Alberta Pandas defeated the Trinity Western Spartans 71-42; 81-45 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Alberta leads 33-24 at the half. The Pandas played without star Jackie Simon, who was sidelined with a bronchial cold. Cathy Butlin paces the Pandas with 16 points, 6 rebs and 4 assists. Sara Armstrong added 12, while Erin Sandusky nabbed 8 boards. Heidi Suderman led Trinity Western, which joined the league in the 2000 campaign, with 8 pts, 1 reb and 4 assists. Trinity Western coach Rebecca Hays said “we had plenty of chances tonight. We play better every time we go out. We’re learning what it’s going to take. Rome wasn’t built overnight.” Alberta captain Kim Wyley noted that “we had a really great warm-up. We had a lot of energy in the first half. We were fired up but we were doing the wrong things. I credit Trinity Western. They came out firing. Instead of us coming together as a team, all five players fell apart and started trying to force it.” The Bears led by only 33-24 at the half but opened the second half with a 28-10 run to salt away the victory. …………………………………………………… In game two, Alberta stomped the Spartans 81-45 as Cathy Butlin celebrated her birthday by scored 21, including five from beyond the arc and 10 of the Pandas first 18 points. “It was a very nice birthday present,” said Butlin. “It’s important for me to get a rhythm, to get my confidence up. This weekend was good for me in that sense. I was hitting a lot of my shots.” The Pandas led 42-16 at the half, which elated coach Trix Baker. “I was really happy with our defence. The way that we’re playing defence now is good defence against anybody.” But also nabbed one board and dished four assists. Janice Berends paced Trinity Western with 10 points, 4 reb and 1 assist. The Spartans (coached by Rebecca Hayes, assisted by Kerby Court) also included Katie Hall, Trina Nelson, Amber Beauregard, Shea Terry, Denise Page, Anna Chinnery, Heidi Frandrup, Alaina Thiessen, Helen Worley, Jamie Mullaney, Rifka Heidleberg, Lora Constantinescu, Carissa Roosma and Heidi Suderman.
In the other quarterfinal, U.B.C. swept Saskatchewan 80-58; 75-58 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, UBC prevailed 80-58 as Jessica Mills scored 20. The Thunderbirds outrebound Saskatchewan 33-19. …………………………………………………… In game two, UBC completed the series sweep with a 75-58 win. Jacqueline Lavallee led the Huskies with 25 points on .500 from the field and 3-5 from the arc. The Huskies (coached by Lisa Thomaidis) also included Carla Puetz, Claire Dore, Sandra Anderson, Nicole Poier, Lisa Glemser, Lauren Evans, Dallas English, Carla Bodnarus, Lisa Bodnarus, Maybelle Janzen and Jodi Bevin.
In the semis, Victoria defeated U.B.C. 75-60; 61-57 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, the Vikes stomped the Birds 75-60 as Kim Johnson scored 11 in the first half on 5-9 from the floor and added 3 assists. The Vikes led 36-25 at the break. Emily King added 10 off the bench and blocked two shots late in the half. All-Star Jessica Mills led UBC with 12 first-half points on 6-9 from the floor. The Vikings held Mills to two points in the second half and ran away with the victory, while shooting .5000 from the floor. Kim Johnson led Vic with 22 points and 3 assists. Stacy Reykdal led U.B.C. with 21 points. …………………………………………………… In game two, Victoria trailed 38-33 at the half but prevailed 61-57 as Megan Dalziel scored 19 and grabbed 7 boards. Lindsay Anderson scored 10 for the Vikings, including a tough baseline drive with 30 seconds to play. Janet McLachlan added 12 points and 11 boards, and Lindsay Brooke 11 points and five assists. Megan Dalziel was four of 6 from the field and had 12 points in the first half to lead Vic. The Vikings had 9 turnovers in the first half but just 1 in the second. Jessica Mills hit 15 for UBC and grabbed 7 boards.
In the other semi, Calgary defeated Alberta 63-59; 91-84 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Leighann Doan scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to pace the Dinosaurs. Cathy Butlin led the Pandas with 22 points. Cathy Payne drilled a trio of three-pointers in the final seven minutes to give Calgary the win. “Lucky, I wasn’t thinking about it,” said Payne. “I went dry in the first half but I couldn’t think about that – I wasn’t concerned. I knew my time would come. It was a team effort and the focus was on the team. In the second half, we just came alive. It was such a great team effort. You could feel the energy on the bench.” With Doan sidelined for most of the first half by foul trouble, Alberta went on an 11-1 run to take a 37-25 lead at the break. But Doan scored 12 early in the second half, while Payne and point guard Linnae Bee nailed back-to-back treys as Calgary rallied to a 49-48 lead. After Payne hit a trey to give the Dinosaurs a 59-58 lead with two minutes to play, Laura Jablonski and Bee each notched a pair of free throws to ice it for Calgary. “In the second half, it was time to come out and play as hard as we could, fouls or whatever,” said Doan. Calgary coach Shawnee Harle said “we had players step up when we needed them to. That’s what it often comes down in the playoffs – which teams going to make the big plays at the right time.” Guard Jennifer Goldade added 9 points off the bench, including 5 within 30 seconds in the first half off a steal, a rebound, a free throw and a jumper. “Jen is a gamer,” said Harle. “She’s one of those players who is not willing to take ‘no’ for an answer.” …………………………………………………… In game two, Calgary defeated Alberta 91-84, after taking a 42-35 lead at the half. Leighann Doan led Calgary with 38 points and 10 rebounds. Cathy Butlin led Alberta with 29 points, including six from beyond the arc, while nabbing 3 boards. At the suggestion of assistant coach Claire Mitton, the Dinosaurs, who’d struggled early in the regular season, had procured white hard hats, when their record was (5-3), to symbolize a new commitment to a blue-collar approach to the game. “We used the analogy: put your hard hats on and get to work,” said coach Shawnee Harle. “And instead of just saying it, we went one step further and got some. We wear them during pre-game talk and they’re in there at halftime as reminder for us as well.” The Dinnies responded with an (11-1) over the remainder of the season.
In the finals, Victoria swept Calgary 63-51; 80-68 (2g-0).
In game one, Janet McLachlan scored 16 points and grabbed 5 boards to lead Victoria to a 63-51 win. Leighann Doan led Calgary with 18 points and 10 boards. Vic was ahead 39-31 at the half. Vic’s defence was the difference. The Vikes held Calgary to .362 from the floor and stole the ball 16 times. But the Dinnies out-rebounded Vikings 21-15 in the first half and 41-22 for the game. Victoria ripped off a 15-2 run late in the first half to take an eight-point lead into the lockers. They stretched their lead to 15 early in the second half. McLachlan was 8-10 from the floor, Doan was 8-22.
In game two, Victoria rallied to defeat Calgary 80-68 in overtime. The lead changed hands 10 teams in the second half. Calgary led by as many as six before fourth-year forward Kim Johnson hit a pair of threes in the final minute of play, including a game-tying bucket with 6.2 seconds on the clock to force the extra session. Johnson, scored 9 points in overtime as the Vikes outscored Calgary 14-2. She finished with 23 points and had 4 assists. The victory gave Victoria its sixth consecutive Canada West crown. “There have been some good ones. But this has got to rank right up there,” said Vikings coach Kathy Shields. The lead changed 11 times in the final 15 minutes of regulation. Johnson’s three, with six seconds left, pulled the Vikes to a 66-66 tie. “Talk about a gutsy performance at the end,” Vikes coach Kathy Shields said about both teams. “I feel so bad for Calgary. They played their hearts out. We could not stop Leighann Doan in the second half.” Doan, the Canada West player of the year, was 15 for 21 from the field for 32 points, and had 12 rebounds. Catherine Payne added 11. Megan Dalziel added 19 for Victoria, Lindsay Brooke 12 and Janet McLachlan 10. Calgary suffered a raft of turnovers as the Vikes shot to a 7-0 lead. But they began pounding the ball inside and ripped off an 11.4 run, rallying to within 30-27 at the half. In the second half, Calgary used its height to control action in the paint but the Vikes were just as physical. “We’re tough, and that’s really important,” said Shields. As the lead seesawed throughout the second half, Calgary gradually gained the upper hand, taking a 65-60 lead with less than two minutes to play. The Dinos missed three of four free throws while Johnson was sinking threes to send the game into overtime. “The comeback gave us momentum,” said Shields. “I think our zone defence slowed them down. It was almost too late in regulation, but it helped us in overtime.”
After the season, Dori Johnson retires for family reasons at Lethbridge and is replaced by Shannon Mackintosh. A former Pronghorn, Johnson had been coaching at Taber W.R. Myers High. “I always wanted to pursue a coaching position in university basketball,” Mackintosh, a native of Blairmore, told the Lethbridge Herald. “You are never too sure of things. I was confident in my own ability, but you don’t know what other coaches might apply, and what other candidates might be out there.”
On June 18, 2000, the CIAU approved the addition of Simon Fraser University to the CIAU, commencing in 2001, while joining the Canada West conference. The Clan had left the CIAU on March 16-1964 while announcing that they would offer full athletic scholarships. They often culled the cream of Canadian talent to play in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Through the years, the Clan were an NAIA powerhouse. Among their accomplishments was a Pacific Northwest title in 1995 as Nikki Johnson and Kim McLeod were named conference all-stars. In 1997, the Clan were the NAIA’s stingiest defensive team, relinquishing only 51.1 ppg while earning a (24-6) record. Nikki Johnson was a 2nd-team NAIA All-American. Lose in NAIA quarterfinals. In 1998, the Clan made it to the NAIA semi-finals as the second-seed, but were upset by the third-seed. Nikki Johnson was chosen to the all-tournament 1st team and Joby McKenzie to the second team. The Clan unsuccessfully applied for NCAA Division II membership. In 1999, Jessica Kaczowska was 2nd-team NAIA All-American. Teresa Kleindienst is 3rd-team All-American. Clan advance to national tourney final but lose to Oklahoma City. In 2000, the Clan lost to Oklahoma City in the NAIA final. Kliendienst was chosen tournament MVP and Kaczowka all-tourney. Coach Allison MacNeill was three times selected Pacific Northwest coach of year and once selected NAIA coach of year.
The co-bronze medalist British Columbia Thunderbirds: Jessica Mills; Amy Jonker; Lindsay Cox; Brandie Speers; Charmene Adams; Carrie Rogers; Julie Smulders; Stacy Reykdal; Carrie Watson; Lia Grainger; Jennifer Washburn; coach Deb Huband
The co-bronze medalist Alberta Pandas: Cathy Butlin; Robyn Haig; Cristi Allan; Megan Depew; Jackie Simon; Sara Armstrong; Kim Wyley; Diane Smith; Elisha Williams; Erin Sandusky; Kathryn Watson; Amanda Smith; Pam Hoyles; Heidi Dennis; coach Trix Kannekens-Baker; assistant Shelaine Kozakavich; assistant Susan Tokariuk; assistant Jocelyn MacLean
The runner-up Calgary Dinosaurs: Linnae Bee; Catherine Payne; Jill Bekar; Jennifer Goldade; Leighann Doan; Anna Bekkering; Rena Carriere; Alison McGinn; Laura Jablonski; Laura Fleming; Jennifer Pearson; Candace McMaster; Sarah Howard; Karen Debbink; coach Shawnee Harle; assistant Claire Mitton
The champion Victoria Vikings: Lindsay Anderson; Kim Johnson; Janet McLachlan; Megan Dalziel; Lindsay Brooke; Joanna Holdsworth; Emily King; Lindsay MacDonald; Krystal O’Bryne; Kim Oslund; Kimberley Lobb; Christy Solomon; Jen Diana; coach Kathy Shields; assistant Brian Cheng