(1) Mount Royal 68            
(8) U of King’s College 47 Mount Royal 69        
(4) Sainte-Foy 77 Sainte-Foy 56 Mount Royal 61    
(5) S.A.I.T. 62            
              —–MOUNT ROYAL  
(2) Montmorency 84            
(7) Okanagan 48 Montmorency 63 Montmorency 58    
(3) Thompson Rivers 70 Thompson Rivers 55        
(6) Fanshawe 44            

        In the quarterfinals, held in Calgary, the 2nd-seeded Montmorency Nomades stuffed the 7th-seeded wild card Okanagan Lakers 84-48. The Nomades jumped quickly out of the gate as they outscored the Lakers 41-29 in the first half as 5-10 guard Pascale Morin scored 15. Rayna Gibbs led Okanagan with 9. Morin finished with 29 points.

The 3rd-seeded Thompson Rivers, (then the Cariboo Sun Demons) breezed to a 70-44 win over the 6th-seeded Fanshawe Falcons. A late trey gave Thompson Rivers its largest lead, 33-28, at the half. But coach Jeff Speedy inspired his troops at the break and the Sun Demons came out blazing in the second half. Amber Paulson led Thompson Rivers with 14 points. Jacquie Finnie scored 10 for Fanshawe.

        The 4th-seeded wild card Ste-Foy Dynamiques defeated the defending champ, host and 5th-seeded SAIT Trojans 77-62 despite trailing 39-37 at the half. But they took the lead for good when Caroline D’Amours hit a trey to give them a 48-46 lead with 13 minutes to play. Chantale Bellevance led Ste. Foy with 17 points. D’Amours added 15. Lori Jackson led SAIT with 17. Lisa Jensen added 16. The Dynamiques used their considerable size advantage to take command of the boards in the second half. “I thought the game was really a lot closer than the score,” said SAIT coach Avery Harrison. “Ste-Foy was stronger than us inside and although we did a good job getting the ball inside to our posts, we couldn’t finish the job around the basket.” Dynamiques coach Sonia Ritchie, whose team outrebounded the Trojans by eight, said “we matched up against them well. We never really allowed them to get settled inside and under the hoop. And our bench really stood up when it had to. They really helped us out when some of our other players got in foul trouble.”

        In the last quarterfinal, the top-seeded Mount Royal Cougars kept their undefeated season intact with a 68-47 win over 8th-seeded University of King’s College Blue Devils. The Cougars took a 37-17 lead at the break and led by as many as 30 with five minutes remaining. Annie Walker led Mount Royal with 25 points. Trish Ryan led the Blue Devils with 10. Mount Royal point guard Heidi Somerville scored 3 points and dished out two assists despite playing with a broken finger. She’d broken her finger in practice shortly before the tournament began. Coach Donovan Martin was displeased, however. “There was a lot of hype for this game and I think we fell into that a little. We started slow and our heads weren’t into it at all. And we need to get back to our system.” Martin added that his troops were vulnerable early “but the Devils just didn’t shoot well enough to take advantage.”

        In the bronze quarterfinals, Okanagan defeated Fanshawe 66-49 as player of the game Angie Robson scored 21. The Lakers led 36-14 early.

        In the other bronze quarterfinal, SAIT edged King’s 60-53. SAIT led 30-27 at the half as Lori Jackson dominated the paint Lisa Jensen led the Trojans with 21. Julie Zinck led the Blue Devils with 13.

        In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Montmorency Nomades put on a defensive clinic in shutting down 3rd-seeded Thompson Rivers 63-55.  “Our defence is a way of life for us,” said coach Forget Francois. “It’s the way we play on defence. We play hard and we make good decisions. The Nomades packed the paint and contained the Sun Demons to just 7 offensive rebounds and only 31 field goal attempts. “We’ve got six players over six feet and we have to use (that size) to our advantage,” said Francois. The Nomades led 36-29 at the half. The Sun Demons shifted to full-court pressure in the second half and trimmed the margin to four with just under three minutes to play. But then the Nomades countered with a press that forced a series of quick turnovers and iced the win. The Sun Demons struggled from the line, hitting just 5-16. “It was a heck of an effort,” said Thompson Rivers coach Jeff Speedy. “But we dug too deep a hole early in the game and had a hard time climbing out of it.” Forwards Cardine Roger and Josee Lalonde each scored 19 for the Nomades, while also grabbing 9 boards. Sandra Redford led Thompson Rivers with 21 points.

        In the other semi, the top seeded Mount Royal Cougars thumped the 4th-seeded Ste-Foy Dynamiques 69-56. The Cougars led 40-22 at the half and were never threatened. The Cougars contained Ste-Foy to .350 from the field and led from the outset. “That’s defence,” said coach Donovan Martin. “We didn’t give them a smell tonight.” Annie Walker led Mount Royal with 22. Caroline D’Amours paced Ste-Foy with 13.

        In the bronze semi, the Ste-Foy Dynamiques defeated the Okanagan Lakers 57-52. Lakers player of the game Angie Robson scored 15. The Lakers also included Jenny White, Meghan Faust.

        In the other bronze semi, Cariboo Sun Demons defeated the SAIT Trojans 78-64.

        In the bronze medal match, the 4th-seeded Ste-Foy Dynamiques defeated the 3rd-seeded Thompson Rivers Sun Demons 61-60. The Demons led by one and had possession of the ball with 12 seconds remaining. But they missed an easy bunny layup. The Dynamiques snared the rebounding and raced down court for the winning bucket. Demons coach Jeff Speedy noted that “in a one-point game, it’s unfortunate you always look at the last missed shot. But we had several missed shots before that. Everybody in the gym was surprised she was that wide open, including our own player.” Thompson Rivers had led 40-31 at the half but Ste-Foy tightened the defensive screws in the second half. “I know my team is very aggressive,” said Dynamiques coach Sonia Ritchie. “But in the first half we followed them before we started doing what got us here – being aggressive.” Ste-Foy missed but eight shots on the night. “You can’t help but go on an offensive run when you shut the other team down with defence,” said Speedy. “They really clamped down the inside.” Chantale Bellevance led St. Foy with 23 points and 7 boards. “She gives our team the guts to win,” said Ritchie. Kelly Cannings led Thompson Rivers with 24. Sun Demons coach Jeff Speedy told the Cariboo student paper that “we had a nine-point halftime lead and we were playing as well as we could. We were doing everything right on defence but Sainte Foy really stepped it up defensively, holding us to a ridiculous shooting percentage in the second half, something like 25 per cent. They shot 70 per cent for the game.” Speedy said the Sun Demons were also victimized by fate. “Well, for instance, we had a scramble for a loose ball, Kelly comes up with it and goes for a breakaway layup. There were two (Sainte Foy) players on the floor mildly injured and the referee blows his whistle and stops the play which is a no-no. … We had a layup with nine seconds left that would have put us ahead by three and we missed it. For some reason, it just wasn’t meant to be.” The Sun Demons (coached by Jeff Speedy) also included Kirstine Niemi, Sandra Redford, Wendy Hara, Jodi Leech, Kristine Teichman.

        In the final, the top-seeded Mount Royal Cougars capped a perfect (27-0) season against community college competition with a 61-58 victory over the 2nd-seeded Montmorency Nomades. Montmorency was ahead 37-31 at the half. Annie Walker led Mount Royal with 21 points. Josee Lalonde paced the Nomades with 17. A desperation Nomades shot bounced off the back of the rim at the buzzer. The best team in Canada but did not have an all-Canadian selection. “We’re a team without superstars,” said coach Donavan Martin. “But you would be hard pressed to find a team as deep as we are right through to our last player on the bench.” Tournament MVP Annie Walker added that “I think player for player we are better than anyone. Other teams have individuals who stick out. You wouldn’t think of any of us that way.” Mount Royal sealed the win as Anita de Menzes scored three free throws in the final minute of play. Paula Walker added another free throw to ice it.

        The all-tourney team featured: MVP Annie Walker (Mount Royal); Josée Lalonde (Montmorency); Caroline D’Amours (Ste. Foy); Caroline Roger (Montmorency); Lisa Jensen (SAIT); and Sandra Redford (Cariboo).

        The 2nd-team featured: Angie Robson (Okanagan); Chantale Bellevance (Ste. Foy); Kelly Cannings (Cariboo); Paula Walker (Mount Royal); and Lori Jackson (SAIT).

        The bronze medalist Ste-Foy Dynamiques: Caroline D’Amours; Chantale Bellevance; Marie-Claude Cote; Annie Pouliot; Marie-Eve Beaulieu-Demers; Andree-Anne Parent; Emile Langevin; Chantal Forest; Anne-Marie Scherrer; Caroline St-Pierre; Claudia Robitaille; Marie-Claude Dallaire; coach Sonia Ritchie; assistant Jean-Francois Bennett; statistician Gilles Drouin; trainer Marie-Eve Lebel

        The silver medalist Montmorency Nomades: Pascale Morin; Caroline Roger; Josee Lalonde; coach Forget Francois

The gold medalist Mount Royal Cougars: Anita De Menezes; Paula Walker, Leah Nikiforuk, Jeni Halowski, Annie Walker; Katie Kinsman; Chrissy Job; Heidi Somerville; Meagen Atkinson; Robyn Middlestead; Leslie-Anne Horbry; Adele Stimson; Jen Jareuther; coach Donovan Martin