Final regular season standings:
N (7): Grant MacEwan (21-3), Grande Prairie (20-4), Augustana (16-8), Red Deer (15-9), NAIT (6-18), King’s University College (4-20); Concordia (2-22).
S (6): SAIT (18-2), Mount Royal (16-4), Lethbridge (13-7), Briercrest (8-12), Medicine Hat (4-16) Prairie Bible (1-19).
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Concordia: Becky Kleinmann, Rachel Vachon, Shawna Siemens, Mellisa Black, Carissa Smith, Marta Pietucha, Kim Komarniski, Ginger Morrison, Annie Ahmed, Lois Wright, Nicole Walton, Paige Neilson, Natallie Anderson, coach Scott Edwards
King’s University College: Erin Wisselink, Kelly Frost, Angela Regier, Rebecca Klingenberg, Lenz Zuehlke, Janelle Schenk, Karen DeVries, Erika Schenk, Kathryn Jeffries, Lauren Mitchell
Medicine Hat: Pamela Gottselig, Lisa Moser, Johanna Stauffer, Adele Stimson, Dana Skorenki, Courtney Andrews, Marla May, Janice Moch, Erin Haines, Katie Jo Rabbit, Leah Jo Chabot, Rebecca Sneath, coach Brian Kannekens
NAIT: Jennifer Fead, Brandy Ryder, Amber Smart, Wendy-Ann Belle, Marla Gladstone, Michelle Reeder, Barb Tenney, Sara Bolin, Vanessa Ilchuk, Marcy Theroux, Amanda Paradis, Sandy Emmott, Alicia Downer, Denise Waygood, Melissa Blume
Prairie Bible: Deb Krause, Rachael Schieder, Mary Fehr, Alexis Dewitt, Shirley Larson, Angela Morales, Lana Koleba, Corine Miserva, Ashlee Corpe, Holly Milner, Erin Barnett, Emily Forsman
In the quarterfinals, the SAIT Trojans defeated the Red Deer Queens 90-76; 78-73 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, the Trojans fell behind 8-0 and finally got the scoreboard with a Melissa McIlhone bucket. But they rallied to a 46-33 lead at the half and held on for the win. Lori Jackson led SAIT with 26. “We had to dig deep,” Jackson said. “We didn’t come out the way we usually do. We had to take a moment to get back in it. It was just jitters. You can’t explain jitters. It’s just a mental thing.” Lisa Ozcan added 20 for SAIT. Tracy Guyrkovits and Trina Spence each had 17 for Red Reed. “We weren’t running our offence consistently,” Queens coach Nanette Kowalski. “And we weren’t playing in your face defence like you have to against SAIT.” The Queens also included Andi Crowe-Swords, Meagan Nolin, Lana Spragud, Jody Potts, Leah Hunt, Amanda Nichols, Heather MacGregor, Jill McDonald, Jessica Barnes, Natasha Neilson and Nichole Sehlstrom. The Queens hit 20-23 from the line. Kowalski told the Red Deer Advocate that “it wasn’t as great an effort as would have liked. They crashed the boards very well and we weren’t able to shut them down on the rebounds.” …………………………………………………… In game two, SAIT clipped Red Deer 78-73 as Lisa Erickson scored 21, Jensen 18 and Jackson 12. Gyurkovits paced the Queen’s with 25. Lara Spragud added 9, Heather McGregor 8 and Jody Potts 8. Trojans coach Avery Harrison told the Red Deer Advocate that vets Lori Jackson, Lisa Jensen and Lisa Erickson “have been through a lot and are used to tough, close games, so that definitely helped us. Over the last seven minutes, we were able to get points when we needed them.” Red Deer rallied to within 73-70 with 37 seconds to play before SAIT iced it at the line. Queens coach Nanette Kowalski said “we couldn’t allow them to get in a rhythm. They’re just too good for that.”
The Grant MacEwan Griffins defeated the Briercrest Bible Clippers 80-66; 71-69 (2g-0). The Clippers included Sara Thiessen, Sarah McLaughlin, Laura Beeksma, Carrie Schaufele, Amy Kuhn, Suzanne Korthuis, Natasha Tkachuk, Shellie Dykshoorn, Miranda Moore, Amber Bear, Randay Lett and Rolanda Collins.
The Mount Royal Cougars defeated the Augustana Vikings 57-53; 71-51 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Mount Royal never led by more than 9 and were ahead by two with five seconds remaining before icing the win with a pair of free throws by Heidi Sommerville. The Vikings included Shelly Pozerniuk, Billie Sue Blackmer, Trudi Lorenz, Heather Harburn, Jeanna Woodward, Joy De La Paz, Laurie Wilson, Robyn Danyluk, Sarah Person, Jill McAllister, Colleen Biegel and Lindsey Gerlach.
In the last quarterfinal series, the Lethbridge Kodiettes defeated the Grande Prairie Wolves 71-63; 64-71; 83-71 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Lethbridge clipped Grande Prairie 71-63 after leading 38-23 at the half. Kodiettes coach Brad Karren told the Grande Prairie Herald Tribune that “we jumped out to a pretty big lead and pushed it out to 17-18 points. It’s playoffs and they got enough of a lead and we just kind of played to win in the second half. We really kind of let our defence down a bit and we shouldn’t have.” Wolves coach Kelly Ohlhauser said “they definitely came out and shot the ball very well in the first half. I thought we had a couple of breakdowns that left some people open.” Wolves guard Jana Brown said “we just had a hard time getting into it and finding the fire. We weren’t used to that defence, that’s for sure. It’s a lot different playing teams from the south.” …………………………………………………… In game two, Grande Prairie prevailed 71-64. The teams repeatedly traded runs. In the first half, the Kodiettes had an 8-0 run. The Wolves countered with an 11-0 run. In the second half, Lethbridge had a 7-0 run but the Wolves had the answers down the stretch. …………………………………………………… In game three, Lethbridge took the series with an 83-71 win as Darci Hamilton scored 26, including six from beyond the arc. The Kodiettes took command with a late 11-1 run. Hamilton told the Grande Prairie Herald Tribune that “I wanted it. It’s my last year. Everyone stepped up.” Wolve Krista Mitchell said “we are a better team than them day-in and day-out. We just didn’t have what it took today, I guess.” Steph Ruch added that “they hit about two or three threes and it not only showed on the scoreboard but it hit us right in the heart. It was kind of devastating. They just kept hitting the shots and there was nothing we could do.” Wolves coach Kelly Ohlhauser said “you’ve got to give them credit. They stepped forward and made some plays and we didn’t. That’s the way it happens in a close series like this. … Unfortunately, in the second half today our turnovers caught up to us. We just didn’t get any flow on offence.” The Wolves (coached by Ohlhauser) also included Natalie Sanderson, Andrea Kyle, Chrysti Gamble, Anna Kirillo, Vanessa Dunwoody, Jana Brown, Janna Booth, Esther Molina, Racquel Fraser and Katharine Butler.
In the Final four semis, held in Calgary, the Mount Royal Cougars defeated the Grant MacEwan Griffins 79-66. The Griffins led 42-35 late in the first half before Mount Royal rallied late to trim the margin to 47-45 at the end of the racehorse first half. But Megan Atkinson gave the Cougars their first lead at 49-47 early in the second half and they maintained it to the final buzzer. Cougars coach Donovan Martin said they allowed the Griffins too many uncontested shots in the first half. ‘We felt lucky to be down by one hoop. The second half, we were determined not to let them shoot from anywhere and we held them to 19 points. There were a lot of unsung heroes in the game. Atkinson had a huge game on the boards and Tamara Gehring scored 12 big points.” The Cougars shot .510 from the field, while the Griffins hit .420. Griffins coach Erhayat Ozcan said the “the difference was we weren’t able to fast break in the second half. We had 31 points in transition in the first half and six in the second. They played great defence and got back very well. We couldn’t rebound the ball on them.” Lindsay Butler led MacEwan with 14. Annie Walker, who paced the Cougars with 18, said “I think we came out a little too excited. We beat ourselves in the first half. Our coach told us we were the better team man for man and to go out and prove it.”
In the other semi, the SAIT Trojans defeated the Lethbridge Kodiettes 82-61. The Trojans dominated from the start, leading 47-26 at the half. Lisa Jensen scored 25 and expected a tougher match, having lost twice to the Kodiaks during five regular season games. “Lethbridge was definitely a contender. They’ve always come out for us before. But we worked really hard. We want to keep going on this train. We have good momentum,” said Jensen. Lethbridge coach Brad Karren said “we just weren’t getting to the ball fast enough.” Wendy McMurray paced the Kodiettes with 15. Lana Brown added 10. Karren told The Endeavour “the girls weren’t aggressive. SAIT was the bigger team.”
In the bronze medal match, the Grant MacEwan Griffins defeated the Lethbridge Kodiettes 68-62 as Marcie Balay scored 19. The Griffins led 33-32 at the half. Darci Hamilton led the Kodiettes with 16 points and 10 assists and was chosen player of the game for Lethbridge. Wendy McMurray scored 13 and nabbed 10 boards. Rebecca Jackson added 10. Kodiaks coach Brad Karren told the Endeavour “their hearts weren’t in it.” The Kodiettes also included Nicky Baker, Lana Brown, Aimee Sandham, Evangeline LeClair, Jennifer Judd, Brandi Greenstein, Jill Cleland, Leslie Rosadiuk, Jill Fletcher and Rylee Anderson.
In the final, a rematch of the previous two championships, the SAIT Trojans nipped the Mount Royal Cougars 50-48 as Shiana Birrell notched a pair of free throws with 9.2 seconds to play. It was Birrell’s only two points of the game but coach Avery Harrison had inserted her on the floor with two minutes to play. “I thought we might need someone to shoot in a pinch and Shiana’s been playing well the last two weeks,” said Harrison. “After she sunk them (assistant coach) Rae Fehr leaned over and said that was the call of the game. Some days, the players make you look like a genius.” Birrell admitted that she was nervous, particularly in the face of the deafening crowd. “Assistant coach Rae has been telling us C plus C equal C (confidence plus concentration equal consistency). That went through my head and then I took a deep breath and shot.” Mount Royal guard Heidi Somerville put up the first bucket and the Cougars held SAIT off the scoreboard for three minutes until Lisa Erickson, who scored 25, hit a free throw. Melissa Smith added a field goal a minute later as SAIT trimmed the margin to 9-3. Mount Royal extended its lead to 23-13 but Lisa Jensen, Lisa Erickson, Lori Jackson and Melissa Smith scored consecutively to narrow the margin to 23-22 before the half ended with Mount Royal leading 25-22. “I think we played the worst 20 minutes of the season but that run definitely kept us in it,” said Harrison. “But we were very fortunate to only be down by three at the half.” The teams kept trading the lead in the tight second half. “We had them but we couldn’t sink a foul shot the whole second half,” said Cougars coach Donovan Martin. “That was the difference in the game.” Mount Royal shot .580 from the line, while SAIT was .820. Chrissy Job led the Cougars with 15 points. “They beat us in free throws, so what?” said Annie Walker, who fouled out of the game with 6:36 left to play. “We still have nationals; it’s not the end of the world.”
The bronze medalist Grant MacEwan Griffins: Stephanie Stolk; Lindsay Butler; Marcie Balay; Christy Debienne; Carmen Gassner; Emily Deschuymer; Jaclyn Auch; Jacqueline Downing; Tracey Arbuckle; Jennifer Anderson; Alexis Ibbotson; Jessica Clarke; Carissa Armstrong
The silver medalist Mount Royal Cougars: Annie Walker; Chrissy Job; Heidi Somerville; Karen Dobbink; Meagan Atkinson; Sarah Howard; Robyn Middlestedt; Katie Kinsman; Tamara Gerhing; Elana Arnold; Amy Sim; Lynette Van Damme; Afton Stephenson
The gold medalist SAIT Trojans: Melissa McIlhone; Lori Jackson; Shannon Dinzey, Brandi Nash, Lisa Ozcan, Melissa Smith, Jenn Kutchoski, Shiana Birrell, Asha Forrester, Lisa Jensen, Susan Stefan; Alexis Goodstriker; Patty Card; Lisa Erickson; coach Avery Harrison; assistant Rae Fehr; therapist Jason Ferguson