Final regular season standings:
North (7): Concordia (22-2); Grant MacEwan (18-6); Augustana (16-8); Lakeland (11-13); NAIT (9-15); Grande Prairie (6-18); The King’s University College (2-22)
South (7): Lethbridge (21-3); Mount Royal (20-4); SAIT (16-8); Medicine Hat (12-12); Red Deer (11-13); Prairie Bible (2-22); Briercrest Bible (2-22)
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Briercrest Bible: Stephanie Issler, Krista Osborne, Miriam DeCock, Erin Schaufele, Heidi Hiltz, Pam Murray, Rebecca Delleman, Melissa Jennings, Yvonne Heal, Marianne Bergmann, Pam Gaunt
Grande Prairie: Melissa Duinker, Rebecca Beauchamp, Amanda Weber, Jennifer Seemann, Charlene Barendregt, Kelli Heavenor, Rose Webb, Loretta Lieverse, Kortney Swap, Courtney Mason, Tannis Stevenson, Maligne Esposito, Courtney Rottier, Paige Podolchuk
The King’s University College: Maia de Klerk, Danielle Frost, Themis Laffitte, Irene Tang, Kristen McCarroll, Heather Sibbald, Kirstyn Rau, Tracey Webb, Hilary Smith, Jen Plantinga, Julie Schenk, Samantha Procee, Lisa McTaggart, Amy Pysar
NAIT: Nichole Fessler, Jenna Badry, Lisa Francis, Kelsey Charuk, Michelle Yarham, Holly Bredo, Lindsay Liber, Lorraine Stelck, Jill Lindstrand, Brie Burrows, Sarah Garner, Jocelyn Sykes
Prairie Bible: Kim May, Rachael Schieder, Stephanie Morales, Erika Snyder, Erica Rude, Jennica Garriot, Rhonda Simpson, Amanda Hirch, Ginny Bryant, Danae Ditson, Tara Davidson
Red Deer: Michelle Wilson, Kailey Bastura, Jessica Guenther, Taylor Jacobson, Julie Wray, Jessie Elias, Kendra Syrota, Jenna Akre, Kelsey Sinclair, Cori Jones, Leah Florean, Romney Drummond, Rachel Tulk
In the quarterfinals, Concordia defeated Medicine Hat 68-56; 68-48 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Concordia prevailed 68-56. “Concordia went to the foul line for 38 foul shots today. We shot 10,” Rattlers coach Boris Grisonich told the Medicine Hat News. “That’s just a ridiculous difference in number. I didn’t think there was (a difference in intensity).” Janene Hooper led the Rattlers with 14. Lindsay Woodward and Claire Tomczyk each added 10. The Thunder opened with a 9-0 run. “We tried a couple things in the first half that didn’t work real well,” said Grisonich. “We went down 20 at the half. In the second half, we came out in a full-court man-to-man (defence), and did really well. We brought it back to within 10, ended up losing by 12 but had a good half.” …………………………………………………… In game two, the Thunder completed the series sweep with a 68-48 thrashing of the Rattlers. “We had a great start, were up 21-17, and just got really cold,” relinquishing a 15-0 run, Rattlers coach Boris Grisonich told the Medicine Hat News. “I think they had the same game plan, they played a solid game, tough D and worked the ball around on offence. They were a little more prepared for our pressure.” The Thunder had a 36-6 edge from the line. “Up in the North they don’t play as aggressive, they play half-court or fall into man defence. In the South we pressure all the time. They didn’t give us any leeway at all for playing aggressive,” said Rattler Jill White. “It was hard to adapt to. It’s hard for us, we know we have to play a full court press. We can’t lay off them, or else we wouldn’t have a chance to beat them.” Janene Hooper led the Rattlers with 11. Heather Munro added 10. Grisonich, the former Medicine Hat High coach who’d led the Kwahommies to several provincial titles, had replaced Bryan Henninger at the Rattlers helm at the start of the season. The Rattlers also included Nicole Hanna, Lindsay Woodward, Sara Nosworthy, Sara Sidney, Claire Tomczyk, Rachel Nosworthy, Stephanie Lang, Amanda Anderson, Christal Freitag and Andrea Hemsing.
Lethbridge defeated Lakeland 69-60; 78-65 (2g-0). The Rustlers included Katherine Keys, Suzanne Campbell, Katey Beach, Carissa Smith, Megan Ragush, Carrie Ryman, Melissa Taylor, Katherine Lafreniere, Meaghan Hines, Brooke Mulder, Kelsey Weighill, Bethany Nagy, Jacquie Mussell, Kailee Marland and Shannon Campbell.
Grant MacEwan defeated SAIT 69-45; 67-36 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game two, MacEwan led by 24 at the half and romped. “They packed it in tight inside and they knew that we had a couple of big scorers for us inside and they made us shoot the outside shot and we didn’t great job getting the ball to our shooters,” said SAIT coach Avery Harrison. Sacha Kirkland led the Griffins by forcing a raft of turnovers and was chosen player of the game. “Talia Galbraith “is a good player, so she pushed me really well and when a player like that pushes me, it makes me play a lot better,” said Kirkland, who scored 7. The Trojans included Whitney Jekabson, Talia Galbraith, Sarah Anderson, Natalie Svarich, Meghan Donahue, Kelly Post, Nicky Connell, Meaghan Martin, Kalea Mullett, Brittany Burley, Riki-Lyn Hutchins, Jenna McClelland, Jaclyn Spence and Kirsti Kowal.
In the last quarterfinal series, Augustana defeated Mount Royal 59-66; 52-51; 66-57 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game two, Paige Gaudreau hit a bucket at the buzzer as the Vikings capped an improbable rally to even the series. …………………………………………………… In game three, Augustana completed the upset by defeating the host Cougars by nine. “There’s no need to assign blame for something like this,” said Mount Royal coach Donovan Martin. “Sometimes, things like this just happen in sports. Sometimes, there’s no accounting for it. We’re not the first team in the history of the world to be upset in a sporting event. … In basketball, it’s about putting the ball in the hoop. For whatever reason, we didn’t score like we’re accustomed to scoring. You have to get credit to them. They had a lot to do with what we couldn’t do.” Augustana coach Cheryl Corrigan said her troops were buoyed by the game two win. “That was big for us. I think it’s a Mount Royal thing. My kids and myself, we haven’t beaten Mount Royal for as long as I can remember. So that was a big emotional lift for us. We just took it into this game.” The Cougars built an early 17-8 lead but Pamela Reinke rallied the Vikings hit a trey at the buzzer as they took a 29-28 lead at the half. “Once we calmed down, thank goodness we did calm down, we were a lot better,” said Corrigan. “My captains (Reinke, Gaudreau and Joan Wheat) took the team on their shoulders. That was big difference for us.” Cougar guard Ashley Guise said “to put it simply, they just outplayed us.” The Cougars included Erin Jopp, Brittany Paterson, Megan Klaus, Allison Masterson, Nadene Jackson, Savannah Magnussen, Kahle Erichsen, Ashlee Guise, Jessica Gill, Jessica Binder, Kristy Dykshoorn, Beckie Dykshoorn and Michelle Anderson.
In the Final Four semis, Concordia whipped Augustana 72-54.
In the other semi, Grant MacEwan crushed Lethbridge 74-62 as Jill Talbot scored 19. Mickey Folson led the Kodiaks with 17. Courtney Coyle added 11 and Elana Arnold 10. “We didn’t do anything right,” Kodiaks coach Brad Karren told The Endeavour. “They got the breaks.”
In the bronze medal match, the Lethbridge Kodiettes dumped the Augustana Vikings 74-62 as Laura Campbell scored 22. “We make teams change to us,” Kodiaks coach Brad Karren told the Endeavour. The Kodiaks led 41-33 at the half and romped. The Vikings included Pamela Reinke, Paige Gaudreau, Heidi Marcinkoski, Joan Wheat, Erin Mercier, Katie Deuchar, Krista Joudrey, Alana Martinson, Sara Brown, Karla Binder and Rebecca Anderson.
In the final, the Concordia Thunder clipped the Grant MacEwan Griffins 70-56.
The bronze medalist Lethbridge Kodiaks: Mickey Folsom; Beth Anderson; Elana Arnold; Deana Dypolt; Karen Bridge; Alisha Nelson; Katie Woodman; Courtney Coyle; Laura Campbell; Debbie Balderson; Claire Nesbitt; Kimberly Wright; Kristen Hill; Alisha Marriott; Tara Griffith; coach Brad Karren; assistant Nicole Dypolt; assistant Renae Hansen; manager Erin Hogan; therapist Jim Manzara
The silver medalist Grant MacEwan Griffins: Ashlee Pigford; Jill Talbot; Janet Hatfield; Emma Rowbotham; Sacha Kirkland; Jessica West; Rebecca Hansen; Megan Campbell; Jessica West; Sara Neumann; Leanne Theuss; Caileen DePaoli; Lauren Balderson; Lindsay McKellar; Brittany Hardman; coach Erhayat Ozcan; assistant Jamie Peers; assistant Nicky Baker; assistant Rhonda Ozcan
The gold medalist Concordia Thunder: Amber Smart; Ashley Nealon; Janet Ariss; Megan Stevenson; Michelle Ryan; Jenna Burden; Leanne Barrett; Erin Slemp; Chelsey Day; Danielle Hopkins; Katie Barrett; Katherine Kibler; Lauren Green; Denise Boye-Owusu; Kayley Brooks; coach Scott Edwards; assistant Karla Karch; manager Brett Miller; therapist Chris Holt