REGULAR SEASON
| McGill | 8-4 | 19-13 | Lisen Moore | ||
| Laval | 8-4 | Linda Marquis | |||
| Concordia | 6-6 | Mike Hickey | |||
| Bishop’s | 2-10 | 8-17 | Rod Gilpin | ||
In the regular season, Laval and McGill finished atop the standings with (8-4) records.
Playoff non-qualifier Bishop’s Gaiters: Stella Martin, Joanne Delong; Chaynna Hay; Nicole Walsh; Jackie Frost; Melissa Frankovitch; Leslie Neasmith; Brooke Ducarme; Janet Bernard; Kimberley Van Vliet; Valerie Falls; Tiffany Crook; coach Rod Gilpin, assistant Peter Huestis
In the semis, Laval defeated Concordia 60-51 as Yolaine Masse and Genevieve Laporte each scored 12. Concordia led 42-37 early in the second half despite playing without all-star forward Patricia Demers, who was sidelined by a concussion. But the Stingers folded down the stretch. Linda Benjamin and Sharon Sandy each notched 11 for Concordia. The Stingers (coach Mike Hickey, assistant Robert Ferguson, manager Christine Durrant, therapist Carla Well, therapist Tracey Griffiths) also included Patricia Demers, Eva Samore, Isabelle Bernier, Angela Harlton, Wanda Vieira, Marie-Helene Heroux, Sabrina Gaspari, Jennifer Smith, Nadia Murphy, Melanie Whims and Wanita Jones.
In the final, the McGill Martlets defeated the Laval Rouge et Or 67-60. “This feels very nice,” McGill first-year coach Lisen Moore told the Montreal Gazette. “Am I surprised? Well . . . winning this had been in my dreams, there’s no doubt about that. I felt there was pressure on us. Nobody but ourselves seemed to feel that we were legitimate. No one was saying, `McGill is the best team in Quebec.’ We thought we were, but other people were looking at other teams in the league, saying `their bench is deeper’ or `that team’s got more explosive players’.” Forward Anne Gildenhuys scored 18, league MVP Vicky Tessier 17, Jennifer Stacey 16 and Josee Deloretto 10, including a pair of critical three-pointers in the first half that saw the Martlets go scoreless for six minutes. After trailing 29-27 at the half and twice rebounding from five- and four-point deficits, McGill went on a 12-2 tear in the final two minutes to nail down the victory. The Martlets were trailing 58-55 when Gildenhuys, Tessier and Stacey each figured in several key plays at both ends of the court to deny the Rouge et Or their first league title since 1991-1992. Forward Yolaine Masse led Laval with 15 while Sonia Lessard and Josee St. Onge had 14 apiece. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. Full of ups and downs,” Tessier said. “We knew it would take 40 minutes to win this game and we managed to outplay them in the last few minutes when it really counted. It was a question of who wanted it more and we wanted it more tonight.”
After the
season, Concordia director of athletic Harry Zarins announces that Mike Hickey
will not return as head coach of the Stingers as a “mutual understanding” had
been reached to declare the position vacant. “I’d like to stay around but if
this is what the school wants, I don’t have major problems with it,” said
Hickey. Zarins issued a press release stating that the school had “decided to
look at new ways and means of improving women’s basketball at Concordia.
Opening up the position of head coach is one of those ways.” The Stingers had
finished (6-6) on the campaign.
The runner-up Laval Rouge et Or:
Yolaine Masse; Sonia Lessard; Josee St. Onge; Genevieve Laporte; Marie-Helene
Belanger; Marie-Claude Lachapelle; Sophie Morin; Marie-Josee Lacharite; Vicky
Macotte; Fulvia Moscini; Tanya Corneau; Genevieve Laporte; coach Linda Marquis
The champion McGill Martlets: Vicky Tessier; Anne Gildenhuys; Jennifer Stacey; Lesley Stevenson; Josee Deloretto; Nishi Rawat; Ingrid Marchand; Melanie Gagne, Allana Henderson; Danielle Goldfarb; Karen Ryce; Annabelle Ambroise; Isabelle Beauregard; Kelly Davidoff; coach Lisen Moore; assistant Stephane Perreault; assistant Jane Ross; SID Earl Zukerman; athletic director Robert Dubeau