REGULAR SEASON
| BALDWIN | NELSON | |||||||
| Memorial | 18-2 | 33-3 | Doug Partridge | Cape Breton | 18-2 | 25-3 | Fabian McKenzie | |
| St. Mary’s | 10-10 | 19-14 | Jill Jeffrey | New Brunswick | 9-11 | 14-18 | Joyce Slipp | |
| Dalhousie | 9-11 | 14-18 | Scott Morrison | U.P.E.I. | 8-12 | 13-15 | Tracy Ellsworth | |
| St. FX | 7-13 | 13-18 | Doc Ryan | Acadia | 1-19 | 2-25 | Laura Sanders | |
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Acadia Axewomen: Amy Brazil, Trish Cormier, Kerry Karsten, Amy Underhill, Erin McAleenan, Kathleen Beniuk, Jessica Bower, Aidan Inglis, Laura McMorrow, Kathryn Murray, Kristy Nicholls, Jessica Pratt, Kate Rive, Vanessa Styles, coach Laura Sanders
St. Francis Xavier X-Women: Aynsley Marr, Katie McDonaugh, Erin Buckle, Katie Melanson, Jen Wickson, Stephanie MacNeil, Beth Stephen, Veronica Bailey, Angela Miller, Lindsay Tozer, Anne Blackmore, Bev Moylan, coach Doc Ryan, assistant Gary Humphreys, assistant Gail Kendall, assistant Damian MacInnis, student therapist Marya Smith
In the quarterfinals, the St. Mary’s Huskies ended a five-game losing streak by dumping UPEI 59-42. SMU led 27-21 with both teams trading runs. The Huskies posted up Julie Galipeau repeated to build the lead. The Huskies extended their lead to 10 and then put the game out of reach early in the second half with an 11-2 run. “At playoff time, your best players have to shine, and certainly that’s what Julie Galipeau and Kattie [Hack] did tonight,” Huskies coach Jill Jeffrey told the Halifax Daily News. “They were both very focused and had some great hoops. Kattie had a huge three- point shot in the second half, and Julie just dominated.” Galipeau finished with 25 points and 19 boards. Katharina Hack added 11. UPEI was led by Katherine Walters’ 11 points. Natasha Eadie added 10, Melissa Breton 7 and Marie-Claude Couture 6. The Panthers (coached by Tracy MacEachern-Ellsworth) also included Lindsay Coade, Ashley Shannik, Jenna Connolly, Cindy Dubord, Carly Leclair, Elizabeth McPhail, Jennifer Russell and Katie Andrews.
In the other quarterfinal, fifth-seed Dalhousie dumped fourth-seed New Brunswick 74-69. The Red opened with a 9-0 run as Bev Kennedy. But Kate Ellis hit a bucket as Dalhousie responded with an 11-2 run to tie the game. Amber Lenihan countered with 7 unanswered points for New Brunswick. The Reds extended their lead to 10 before Dalhousie responded with a 9-0 run to close out the half and rally within 35-34 heading into the lockers. AUAA Rookie of the Year Ryan McKay hit a trey to open the 2nd half and give the Tigers a lead. UNB starts to run cold on offence and commits several turnovers that would prove costly. Three-point plays from Logan Dunning and McKay give the Tigers a 6-point lead, 62-56, with 8:30 to play. UNB starts to mount a comeback as Kennedy posts her first points of the half with 5:15 to go. As the game reaches the 2:00 mark, Dalhousie led 65-64. Carolyn Peppin hits a trey for her only points of the night and extends the lead to 4. However, some key free throws from Sonya Young and Kate Ellis keeps UNB at bay. The Varsity Reds miss 4 in a row from three-point range in the final 24.5 seconds and the Tigers pull out a 74-69 win. Gillian LeBlanc led Dalhousie with 18 points. Amber Lenihan paced New Brunswick with 26. Bev Kennedy added 19. The Varsity Reds (coached by Joyce Slipp) also included Christy McBride, Kate Ross, Heidi McLellan, Sarah Melvin, Melanie Walker, Emily Murphy, Jen Veysey, Stacey Rector, Lindsay Boone, Pam Phillips, Holly Jones and Jessica Arsenault.
In the semi-finals, Memorial dumped Dalhousie 74-62. The Tigers came out cold at the start, missing their first seven shots from the floor. Memorial took full advantage and went on an 8-0 run and built the lead into double digits within the first six minutes of the game. The refereeing tandem of Jim Walsh and Brent Stocker were calling a tight game on both sides, as evidenced by the Tigers entering the penalty with team foul eight at the 10:00 mark. Dalhousie was able to chip the lead back to six, but the ‘Hawks defensive pressure brought that lead back to 13. MUN finished with the final eight points of the half to lead 36-18 after 20 minutes. The second half saw Dalhousie open with four quick points, but Memorial was able to respond to that with 14 points of their own and built their lead to a seemingly comfortable 27. But the Tigers mounted a 12-0 run and brought the lead back down to 13, 52-39 with 10:29 remaining. MUN started to look a bit tentative on offence and their defence started to show some holes that the Tigers took full advantage of. The tandem of Kate Ellis and AUS Rookie of the Year Ryan McKay started to take advantage of the ‘Hawks defense in the low post and rallied the Tigers to within six with just 4:15 left. But AUS MVP Jenine Browne hustled for an offensive board that led to a Kate Flynn bucket that calmed Memorial nerves Six consecutive free throws in the final minute sealed the win. Jenine Browne led all scorers with 35 points while Kate Flynn added 14 for MUN. Top scorers for Dalhousie were Kate Ellis with 19 and Ryan McKay with 12.
In the other semi, Cape Breton thrashed St. Mary’s 68-56. Both teams started the game slowly as it took almost three minutes before the Capers scored their first points. The Huskies opened up an early lead, but the Capers started to chip away at the gap and took their first lead at the 9:45 mark on a three pointer from Maureen Murrin. The Huskies come out of a time-out and score four quick points to get the lead back. The Capers started to employ a full court press and forced several Huskie turnovers. The Capers then converted on six consecutive free throws to regain the lead at 21-20. Sandra Ramos provided a spark off the bench as Cape Breton build a 33-26 lead at the half. The second half also started slowly as both teams struggled to find the range. Katharina Hack hit a trey to open up some opportunities in low post, and spark a 9-1 Huskies run that cut the deficit to seven. But the Capers stifled the rally with a pair of threes from Katie Mulcahy and baskets from Heather Ross and Katie McHugh. They soon built their lead back to 13 with 4:42 to play. SMU suffered a huge loss as Jamie Walker fouls out of the game. The Huskies mounted a final attempt to get back into the game, but three turnovers in the final 2:00 minutes combined with Amanda Fisher going 4-4 from the line ended any hope of a comeback. Heather Ross led UCCB with 14 points while Amanda Fisher added 12. Julie Galipeau was the only SMU player in double figures with 15. Katharina Hack added 9.
In the final, Memorial captured its second straight title by edging Cape Breton 80-77. The Sea-Hawks started slowly and found themselves in early foul trouble as Kerri Highmore picks two early fouls. The teams traded buckets and neither was able to gain a large advantage. Towards the middle part of the half, MUN tightened up their defense and cut down the second chances of the Capers. Then Memorial’s Erika Stokes took an elbow to the chin and was forced to the sidelines until late in the second half. The Capers soon took a four-point lead. With Cape Breton focusing their defence on Jenine Browne, good looks opened up for other Sea-Hawks. Amy Dalton hit a trey with two seconds left on the shot clock to cut the lead to one. Browne finally cuts through the UCCB defense to score her first field goal with 1:21 left and give the Sea-Hawks a 2-point lead. Amanda Fisher responds for the Capers with 5 points in the final minute of the half to give UCCB a 45-42 lead heading into the lockers. Memorial opened the second half with a 6-0 run to take a 3-point lead. They soon extended it to seven but Heather Ross hit a trey to keep things close. UCCB responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead, 60-57 with 10:00 remaining. The Capers switched to a full court press defense, but MUN opened things up sparked by a Kerri Highmore 3-pointer with just one second on the shot clock to regain the lead. UCCB refused to fold and posted an 11-0 run to tie the game at 72-72 with 4:00 remaining. Browne fought for a pair of baskets to put MUN back in front to stay. The team’s traded points from the free throw line, but Amanda Fisher and Heather Ross both missed three-pointers in the final seconds and that proved to be the difference as MUN wins its second consecutive AUS championship. All five Memorial starters scored in double figures with Jenine Browne and Amy Dalton leading the way with 18 points each. Kate Flynn added 15. Browne hit 5-3 from the floor and 8-9 from the line. Dalton was 7-18 from the floor and 3-5 from the line. Flynn hit 5-10 from the floor. Erika Stokes added 11 points and 9 boards. Kerri Highmore scored 11. Joanne McNeill toss in seven off the bench and Krista Singleton 1. The Sea-Hawks shot 27-62 (.435) from the floor, 2-8 (.250) from the arc and 24-33 (.727) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, 14 fouls, 25 assists, 12 turnovers, 1 block and 6 steals. Heather Ross paced the Capers with 23 on 7-10 from the floor and 8-9 from the line. Amanda Fisher chipped in 17 on 7-15 from the floor and 3-5 from the arc. B. Carafelli notched 6, Katie McHugh 5 and K. Reynolds 4. Maureen Murrin hit 7 off the bench, Sandra Ramos 6, S. Dempster 6, Katie Mulcahy 3, C Pittman 0, L. Hunt 0 and J. Maclean 0. Cape Breton shot 30-57 (.526) from the floor, 6-10 (.600) from the arc and 11-14 (.786) from the line while garnering 29 boards, 23 fouls, 28 assists, 12 turnovers, 2 blocks and 6 steals.
The co-bronze medalist Dalhousie Tigers: Kate Ellis; Ryan McKay; Logan Dunning; Leslie Duncan; Lauren Plummer; Sonya Young; Laura Irvine; Gillian Leblanc; Kate Ellis; Carolyn Peppin; Becky Melvin; Elspeth Chung; Megan Scanlan; Katherine Fortier; coach Scott Morrison
The co-bronze medalist Saint Mary’s Huskies: Julie Galipeau; Katharina Hack; Jamie Walker; Laura MacPherson; Samantha Coutts; Natalie Ryan; Sarah Hebb; Emily DiPaolo; Elizabeth Gibbons; Erin Graves; Rebecca Chisholm; coach Jill Jeffrey; assistant Nadia Murphy; assistant Christina Chadwick; trainer Robert Brownell; manager Trish Waugh
The runner-up Cape Breton Capers: Heather Ross; Amanda Fisher; Brandy Carafelli; Katie McHugh; Kim Reynolds; Maureen Murrin; Sandra Ramos; Sharalee Dempster; Katie Mulcahy; Cheryl Pittman; Leanna Hunt; Jennifer Maclean; Ashley Vokey; Kelli McHugh; coach Fabian McKenzie
The champion Memorial Sea-Hawks: Jenine Brown; Kate Flynn; Kerri Highmore; Erika Stokes; Amy Dalton; Joanne McNeil; Krista Singleton; Nikki Rogers; Julie Dunphy; Alicia Bird; Sheena Fleming; Theresa Butler; Janine Hewitt; Julie Dunphy; coach Doug Partridge; assistant Andrea Hutchens; assistant Erica Coultas; assistant Elizabeth Cohey; trainer Lucas Hann