In the opening round, held in Edmonton, the 6th-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans thumped the 11th-seeded Grande Prairie Totems 80-55. The Totems (coached by Irene Freisz) included Susan Kinnaird, Jenny Head, Julia Neufeld, Esther Molina, Suzanne Rigler, Sophia Thompson, Ashley Guise. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Sherwood Park Salisbury Sabres whipped the 12th-seeded Red Deer Lindsay Thurber Raiders 101-43. Raiders coach Ellen Van Doesburg told the Red Deer Advocate that “we were simply overwhelmed. We found ourselves standing around watching them more than playing. They simply played at a tempo we weren’t used to and couldn’t play at.” The Raiders (coached by Van Doesburg) included Brooke Lazzarotto, Marla Sutherland, Kara House, Mandy Neiman, Jill Hornby, Michelle Curtis. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Lethbridge Catholic Central Cittens crushed the 9th-seeded Calgary St. Mary’s Saints 64-49. The Saints (coached by Diane McClair) included Carla Slade, Joanna Niemczewska and Nancy Ling. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Medicine Hat Kwahommies defeated the 10th-seeded Calgary Bishop Carroll Cardinals 61-55. “This game wasn’t as close as the score indicated,” Kwahommies coach Boris Grisonich told the Medicine Hat News. “We were up by 20 with less than four minutes left and we put in some younger kids.” Lisa Moser paced the Kwahommies with 21. Eriene Garyk, Brandi Greenstein and Janice Moch each added 10. “It wasn’t our greatest game, but we were able to win,” said Grisonich. “I think the girls were a little nervous and they were scared to shoot the ball and were making some passes that were getting picked off.” The Cardinals included Arianna Waye.
In quarterfinals, the top-seeded Calgary Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers pounded the 8th-seeded Lethbridge Catholic Central Cittens 83-34. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well,” Lancers coach Bryce Tolley told the Calgary Herald. The Cittens (coached by Cal O’Brien) included Jessica Fox, Maggie Fox, Megan Moruz, Jackie Stroeve, Andrea Fox, Rana Delaney, Christie Forster, Janay Hamilton.
The 4th-seeded Edmonton Jasper Place Rebels edged the 5th-seeded Sherwood Park Salisbury Sabres 68-64.
The 2nd-seeded Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs stomped the 7th-seeded Medicine Hat Kwahommies 67-44 as Katy Paterson scored 18. The Kwahommies (coached by Boris Grisonich) included Lisa Moser, Erlene Garyk, Janice Moch, Eva Nohr, Brandi Greenstein, Amy Toews, Kim Schreiber, Kendra Smid, Naomi Decosse, Janice Moch, Jen Tschritter, Lindsay Bardhal.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans clubbed the 6th-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans 81-61.
In the semis, the top-seeded Calgary Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers clipped the 4th-seeded Edmonton Jasper Place Rebels 73-61. The Lancers had a shaky first half “but in the second half we started to pull away from them,” said coach Bryce Tolley. “We got some fastbreak baskets and we weren’t giving them any rebounds. That’s where we took the game away from them.” Jasper Place coach Ralph Tuominen, whose troops trailed by four with four minutes to play, told the Edmonton Journal “we’re a good team but we’re not a 40-minute team yet. I can’t be disappointed. They did so well. I mean, how many people expected us to get this far? The last time they’d been in the provincials was 1980. So there’s no tradition yet.”
In other semi, the 2nd-seeded Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs defeated the 3rd-seeded Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans 67-62 as Katherine Adams scored 21.
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans defeated the host and 4th-seeded Edmonton Jasper Place Rebels 70-49. The Rebels (coached by Ralph Tuominen) included Dawn Kendall, Christy Woods, Laura Stosky, Lucia Popovici.
In the final, the top-seeded Calgary Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers defeated the 2nd-seeded Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs 70-66 as Ashley Dutchak scored 23. The win cost Lancer coaches Bryce Tolley and Lyle Watson their mustaches as they’d promised their troops that they’d shave if Scarlett captured its third straight 4A crown. “Well, I’ve got the girls for it. They’re pretty focused,” Tolley told the Calgary Herald. “This one was well-played on both sides.” It was the seventh meeting between the two schools and a rematch of the Calgary city final. The teams had split 3-3 during the season. Early on, it looked like Katy Paterson would clinch a victory for the Bulldogs. She was the proverbial Bulldog in the china shop, scoring 16 of her team’s first 19 points. However, Paterson’s game-high 36 points, including a trey to pull Churchill to within one point with 40 seconds to go, were not enough. “She’s just a class individual, a consummate team player,” said Bulldogs coach Rick Frey. “Her offence, her defence – I’m going to miss her. She is class.” The Lancers led 42-41 at the half. “Our defence wore them down,” said Tolley. “And our fast break, they’re just not used to that. They like to walk the ball up and get into that slow-down game. We kept pushing them up and down the floor. I think it showed in the last three or four minutes. We still had a lot of go in our legs. They were kind of dragging. … (Dutchak) started all year for us. She has an inner intensity; she doesn’t show it on the outside. This is the first time our school has ever allowed a Grade 10 to play (on the senior team). She’s going to be a good player.”
The bronze medalist Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans: Christine Shewchuk; Alana Pyzyk; coach Ron Kutney
The silver medalist Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: Katy Paterson; Katherine Adams; Erica Jantzen; coach Rick Frey
The gold medalist Calgary Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers: Katherine Fortier; Jen Elford; Kim Harding; Kelly Haxton; Ashley Dutchak; coach Bryce Tolley; assistant Lyle Watson