REGULAR SEASON
| NELSON | BALDWIN | |||||||
| St. FX | 13-7 | 17-13 | Doc Ryan | Dalhousie | 18-2 | 25-10 | Carolyn Savoy | |
| New Brunswick | 12-8 | 16-11 | Joyce Slipp | Memorial | 14-6 | 19-10 | Doug Partridge | |
| Cape Breton | 7-13 | 7-17 | Fabian McKenzie | St. Mary’s | 12-8 | 17-15 | Jill Jeffrey | |
| UPEI | 2-18 | 5-23 | Tracy Ellsworth | Acadia | 2-18 | 5-24 | Laura Sanders | |
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Acadia Axewomen: Pam Dewling, Lindsay Lamorre, Erin McAleenan, Trish Cormier, Jody Harvey, Amy Underhill, Aidan Inglis, Robin DeYoung, Natalie Nakic, Jamie Arnold, Jill Ryan, Alanna MacDonald, Jess Arsenault, coach Laura Sanders, assistant Dwayne MacLeod, assistant Linda Johnston
Prince Edward Island Panthers: Kate Ellis, Krista Connolly, Kate Myron, Carolyn Ellis, Christine Larouche, Amy Doornekamp, Marie-Pierre Brunet, Audrey Morneau, Tamara MacDougal, Allison Hubley, Jenna Connolly, Terryll O’Brien, Martine Geoffrion, coach Tracy MacEachern-Ellsworth, assistant Patrick MacFadyen, assistant Eireann Rigby
In the quarterfinals, third-seeded Memorial defeated the sixth-seeded Cape Breton Capers 80-67. The Capers had led by 35-34 at the half as conference rookie of the year Jenine Browne scored 12. They went ahead 46-39 early in the second half and led by five with 12 minutes to play when Memorial went on a 11-2 run to take a 61-57 lead and then closed out the affair with a 13-4 run. Ann Murrin scored 13 for Memorial, Melissa Skanes 8, Erica Coultas 8, Amy O’Reilly 6, Erica Stokes 10, Kate Flynn 6, Amy Dalton 7, Jenine Browne 21, along with seven boards, Kerri Highmore 1. Memorial shot 22-53 from the floor and 24-30 from the line. Brandy Carafelli led Cape Breton with 12 and a dozen boards. Katie Mulcahy added 12, Heather Ross 2, Kim Reynolds 6, Melissa Manning 13, Amanda Fisher 12, Karen Power 2, Jillian Abbott 2 and Cheryl Pittman 6. The Capers shot 22-47 from the floor and 11-18 from the line. “We just had to get our focus together and concentrate,” said Browne. “We just worked together and came together as a team. We fought our way back.” Cape Breton’s Fisher said “this will give us some valuable experience for down the road. I think we played a great game and showed a lot of people that we have a lot of heart. MUN’s a really deep team. What else could you expect from them? They’re one of the best teams in the league.” The Capers (coached by Fabian McKenzie, assisted by Doug Connors) also included Jennifer Kinsella, Robyn Joe, Kate Myron and Jennifer MacLean.
In the other quarterfinal, fifth-seeded New Brunswick defeated fourth-seeded St. Mary’s 58-55, leading all the way as Lindsay Estabrooks scored 11. St. Mary’s tied it at 11 and at 13 but UNB ripped off a 14-2 run to lead 31-22 at the break. UNB stretched its lead to 13 as guard Bev Kennedy triggered an 11-0 run with three steals for transition layups. The Varsity Reds led by 10 with three minutes to play when Jody Euloth hit a series of buckets to rally St. Mary’s. They cut it to within three but Kristi-Jo Robinson missed a long three at the buzzer that would have forced overtime. Kennedy said that “when they pulled to within two, we said, ‘you know what? The only way we’re going to win this is with defence. We can step it up on defence when we have to. All that really mattered was whether we won the game or not. It doesn’t matter how pretty it was. They could have been disorganized at the end but our defence won the game.” Jillian Hachey scored 14 for UNB and grabbed 11 boards. Bev Kennedy 13, Holly Jones 3, while dishing 8 assists. Lindsay Myers added 13, Lindsay Estabrooks 11 and Ali McGill 4, while Walker, Sarah Melvin and Amber Lenihan were scoreless. UNB shot 20-43 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc and 12-19 from the line. Julie Galipeau scored 16 for St. Mary’s and nabbed 9 boards. Kristi-Jo Robinson scored 3, Jody Euloth 14, while dishing 6 assists, Katie Gammon 12, Joslin Cheverie 2, Carolyn DeAmicis 2 and Shira Hassanali 6, while Kari Scott was scoreless. St. Mary’s shot 19-38 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc and 11-20 from the line. “The final play was a lack of execution,” said Huskies forward Jody Euloth. “We struggled with that near the end of games. They stepped up and played really good defence. They did all the things you have to do to win ball games and we didn’t.” The Huskies (coached by Jill Jeffrey, assisted by Nadia Murphy and Christina Chadwick) also included Natalie Ryan, Felecia Arbuah, Melanie Thomas, Lindsay Welsford, Katharina Hack, Natalie Ryan and redshirt Wendy Mills
In the semifinals, Dalhousie defeated New Brunswick 81-56 after breaking open a close game late in the first half with a 14-2 run that gave the Tigers a 40-30 lead at the break. Janice King and Jillian MacDonald each scored a pair of buckets during the run. Dal had 10 steals in the first half. They ripped off an 8-1 run to open the second half, capped by a Kerri Maier three-pointer. New Brunswick was only able to rally within 11 and Dalhousie cruised down the stretch. Jillian MacDonald scored 21 for Dalhousie, Janice King 12, Kerri Maier 11, Julia Burden 12, Angelia Crealock 14, Fausta Charlong 5, Erin Horne 2, Katherine Fortier 2. Bev Kennedy led New Brunswick with 17, Jillian Hachey added 10, Holly Jones 10, Lindsay Estabrooks was scoreless, Lindsay Myers 7, Sarah Melvin 8, Ali McGill 2, Melanie Walker 2. Dalhousie’s defensive pressure produced 16 steals and forced 28 turnovers. “We tried to use the bye to our advantage,” said Crealock. “We tried to work them as hard as we could and show ourselves what we could do.” New Brunswick’s Jillian Hachey noted that “sometimes you leave the court and you know you didn’t play well. But they just flat out beat us. That’s a real compliment to them. I can look at each and every one on our team and say that I was really proud of our effort out there.”
In the other semi, St. FX defeated Memorial 64-55. St FX took a 31-29 lead at the break as Jacqueline Johnston, Nikki Doucet and Kate McDonaugh each scored 7, including a three-pointer at the buzzer. Memorial took a four-point lead early in the second half but X went ahead 44-41 on four free throws by Erin Buckle. They closed it out with a 10-2 run late in the half. McDonaugh led St. FX with 14, Alyson Wister 0, Kimberly Reardon 2, Jacqueline Johnston 11, Nikki Doucet 12, Laura Whitehouse 5, Mary Jamieson 2, Katie Melanson 8, Erin Buckle 10, along with 10 boards, and Bev Moylan 0. St. FX shot 20-51 from the floor, 3-12 from the arc and 15-23 from the line, while out-rebounding Memorial 43-34, including 10 by Buckle. Ann Murrin paced Memorial with 15, Melissa Skanes 2, Erica Coultas 8, Amy O’Reilly 7, Erica Stokes 6, Kate Flynn 12, Jenine Browne 3, Amy Dalton 1, Kerri Highmore 1 and Renee McGrath 0. Memorial shot 18-38 from the floor, 3-14 from the arc and 10-17 from the line. St. FX point guard Nikki Doucet’s defence was exceptional as she contained the high-scoring Browne to 3 points in 17 minutes of play. “That’s why (Doucet) was voted the top defensive player in the conference,” said St. FX coach Doc Ryan. Memorial coach Doug Partridge noted “we competed very well. But X stepped up the defensive pressure as the game progressed and we couldn’t clean the boards the way we’re capable of doing.”
In the final, Dalhousie defeated St. FX 72-60 before an enthusiastic home crowd. St. FX took an early 18-10 lead on a Katie MacDonaugh three-pointer but Dalhousie ripped off a 10-3 run to close the margin to 21-20, surrendered three points and then ripped off an 11-0 run. St. FX came back with a 10-3 run to the game at 34. But Fausta Charlong came off the bench to hit a bucket that gave Dal a 36-34 lead at the break. Dal started the second half with six unanswered points on a MacDonald bucket and four free throws. A three-point play by Erin Buckle and a basket by Jacqueline Johnston rallied ST FX back to with 42-39 but then Dal began pulling away. Jillian MacDonald scored 16 for the Tigers. Janice King added 16, Angelia Crealock 16, Julia Burden 13, Kerry Maier 9 and Fausta Charlong 2, while Erin Horne, Sonya Young, Logan Dunning, Katherine Fortier, Autumn Mochinski and Hayley Porter were scoreless. Dalhousie shot 18-50 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 27-39 from the line while out-rebounding St FX 43-40. King nabbed 14 boards. Nikki Doucet paced St. FX with 21. Jacqueline Johnston added 9, Erin Buckle 7, Alyson Wister 6, Kim Reardon 5, Mary Jamieson 5, Katie McDonaugh 3, Katie Melanson 2 and Laura Whitehouse 2, while Bev Moylan, Jen Savage and Stephanie MacNeil were scoreless. St. FX shot 19-43 from the floor, 2-14 from the arc and 16-28 from the line. “They were just the better team today,” said X coach Doc Ryan. Tournament MVP Jillian MacDonald noted “this is incredible, amazing. It was our home court. I wanted it really badly and so the rest of the girls. Every point was a battle. But we got it. It’s the perfect way to end this part of the season.” St. FX coach Doc Ryan said “Dalhousie was the better team. They came out in the second half and did a really good job of pressuring us defensively and not allowing us to get in a rhythm.”
The co-bronze medalist New Brunswick Varsity Reds: Bev Kennedy; Jillian Hachey; Holly Jones; Lindsay Estabrooks; Lindsay Myers; Sarah Melvin; Ali McGill; Melanie Walker; Renee Poirier; Heidi MacLellan; Amber Lenihan; Amanda Hennick; coach Joyce Slipp; assistant Dick Slipp; assistant Reg Springer
The co-bronze medalist Memorial Sea-Hawks: Ann Murrin; Melissa Skanes; Erica Coultas; Amy O’Reilly; Erica Stokes; Kate Flynn; Jenine Browne; Amy Dalton; Kerri Highmore; Renee McGrath; Joanne McNeil; Venessa Harper; Maureen Murrin; Jessica Ryan; coach Doug Partridge; assistant Tami Pennell
The runner-up St. Francis Xavier X-Women: Nikki Doucet; Alyson Wister; Kimberly Reardon; Jacqueline Johnston; Katie McDonaugh; Laura Whitehouse; Mary Jamieson; Katie Melanson; Erin Buckle; Bev Moylan; Jen Savage; Stephanie MacNeil; Karen Taylor; coach Doc Ryan; assistant Gary Humphreys; assistant Gail Kendall; manager Janine Goyetche; trainer Kate Swetnam
The champion Dalhousie Tigers: Angelia Crealock, Janice King; Jillian MacDonald; Kerry Maier; Julia Burden; Fausta Charlong; Erin Horne; Sonya Young; Logan Dunning; Hayley Porter; Kerry Maier; Autumn Mochinski; Katherine Fortier; Danielle Rumboldt; Elizabeth McNamara; coach Carolyn Savoy; assistant Jim Charters; manager Patty Lee