(1) John Abbott 96            
(8) N.S. Agricultural 23 John Abbott 77        
(4) Capilano 79 Capilano 57 John Abbott 67    
(5) U of King’s College 42            
              —–JOHN ABBOTT  
(3) Fanshawe 41            
(6) Ahuntsic 51 Ahuntsic 59 Lethbridge CC 57    
(2) Lethbridge CC 90 Lethbridge Cc 65        
(7) Canadian Bible 35            

In the quarterfinals, held in Truro, the top-seeded Quebec champs John Abbott Lady Islanders coached by Lisen Moore, clipped the 8th-seeded host N.S. Agricultural Rams, coached by Judy Smith, 96-23.

The 4th-seeded B.C. champ Capilano Blues, coached by Greg Sharpe, dumped the 5th-seed Nova Scotia champ University of King’s College Blue Devils, coached by Kathie Wheadon-Hore, 79-42.

The 6th-seeded Quebec runner-up Ahuntsic Indiennes, coached by Pierre Trudeau, stunned the 3rd-seeded Ontario champ Fanshawe Falcons, coached by Theresa Colizza and Bill Carriere, 51-41.

The 2nd-seeded Alberta champ Lethbridge CC Kodiaks, coached by John Jasiukiewicz, dumped the coach Jayne Downey’s 7th-seeded Saskatchewan champ Canadian Bible College Crusaders 90-35. Terry Fields paced the Kodiaks with 16. Carrie Kuntz added 15, Maxine Wensman 13 and Laurie Hockridge 10. The Kodiaks led 46-20 at the half. “It was a good opening game for us,” said Kodiak coach John Jasiukiewicz. “We got some good play from some players we never expected to get some good play from. … We scored off the first jump ball and that really set the stage.” The Kodiaks led 46-20 at the half. “We ran our plays well and it was the best our fastbreak has run all year.” He added that the Kodiaks had no trouble playing with the bigger men’s No. 7 basketball at the national level opposed to the smaller ‘women’s’ basketball used in ACAC play. “That (bigger ball) didn’t really affect us.” Kodiak Theresa Pecht injured her knee and was sidelined for the remainder of the tournament.

In the bronze quarterfinals, the Fanshawe Falcons clubbed the Canadian Bible College Rise 64-39.

In the other bronze quarterfinal, the University of King’s College Blue Devils whipped the Nova Scotia Agricultural College Rams 78-38.

        In the semis, the John Abbott Islanders bounced the Capilano Blues 77-57 as playmaker Tracy Frenette stole the show with an array of dazzling feeds. Tracy Hayman led the Islanders with 18. All-Canadian Christine Ferron added 15, Brigette Edwards 13 and point guard Tracy Frenette 8. The Islanders led 41-23 at the half.

        In the other semi, the Lethbridge CC Kodiaks edged the Ahuntsic Indiennes 65-59 after leading 31-30 at the half. Virginia Judd paced the Kodiaks with 22. Rhonda Wensman added 16 and Terry Fields 12. The Kodiaks led 31-30 at the half but back-to-back treys by reserve Barb Babbot gave Lethbridge breathing room heading into the final quarter. The Indiennes rallied to within two with 2:38 to play but Virginia Judd nailed a baseline jumper and Rhonda Wensman a perimeter jumper to ice the win. “It was close the whole game,” said Kodiak coach John Jasiukiewicz, adding that the match was extremely physical and that Maxine Wensmen did an excellent job running the show. “Maxine had an unreal game. She really controlled the ball. We never had any giveaways. We just never turned the ball over.”

        In the bronze semis, the Capilano Blues edged the Fanshawe Falcons 66-64 as Crystal Caldwell scored 22.

        In the other bronze semi, the Ahuntsic Indiennes spanked the University of King’s College Blue Devils 78-50 as Isabel Tetreault scored 33.

        In the bronze medal match, the Ahuntsic Indiennes defeated the Capilano Blues 64-57 as Isabelle Desrochers scored 19.

        In the final, the John Abbott Islanders captured their 7th title in 11 years by defeating the Lethbridge Kodiaks 67-57. “Heads started to turn when they watched us,” coach Lisen Moore told the Montreal Gazette. “’Who are those guys in Blue and Gold?’ they were asking. … When they tied us at 21-21 the game started. We both had settled down. They switched to a man-on-man defence and we read it very well. We did a super job of stopping their penetration and were up 35-23 at halftime,” Moore said. Abbott held Laurie Hockridge to 3 points by fronting her with 5-10 Catherine Millar and using weak-side help when Lethbridge tried to get the ball in low. Moore said the final was a “very good challenge for us” because they lost Frenette early with foul trouble (she sat out 18 minutes in the first half) and then picked up her third in the first minute of the second half. “And she’s a big part of our team,” said Moore. Lethbridge closed to within eight but the Islanders held on for the win. “Our kids had so much confidence,” said Moore. “I just told them to believe in themselves and you’re not going to lose.” Lethbridge coach John Jasiukiewicz said “they’re a great team. They played super ball.” Rookie John Abbott coach Lisen Moore noted the game was very physical but “I was really calm about it. I just felt we had gotten this far and done so well this year that coming into the (championship game), if was going to happen, and it did. … We were very businesslike. We’ve got a lot of things in our bag of tricks and we didn’t have to use any of them.” Moore called it a total team effort. Everyone got in the ball game, and when they were in there, made things happen. Slick (backup point guard Sylvia Corbett) came in, controlled the ball, got and offensive board and really gave us what we needed.” Tournament MVP Christine Ferron scored 10 points, dished out 6 assists, pilfered five balls and played tenacious defence, which kept Lethbridge point guard Maxine Wensman under wraps. John Abbott moved ahead 18-9. But the Kodiaks rallied to tie it at 21. John Abbott led 35-23 at the half and never looked back. Jasiukiewicz called Ferron a “phenomenal” player. “Christine did a good job on (Wensman) today and our other guards weren’t back to help out and that hurt.” John Abbott guard Vanessa Soungie came off the bench to score 18 points on long range bombs, while Brigette Edwards notched 13. Jasiukiewicz said that was unexpected. Virginia Judd led Lethbridge, which was (14-2) in ACAC play, with 24 points. “We came out tight. That was the difference in the game. We were really nervous. Nobody’s been here before,” said Jasiukiewicz. “Overall, they were a lot looser. They played loose and we played tight.” Moore said “for all the strength this team has, we lost a little bit of confidence in the game. When it got close, we stopped believing completely in the system we’ve used all year, stopped believing that little bit. We lost our belief, but we regained it. We had good guards with a lot of confidence and we worked at keeping the game simple. I think we did a tremendous job against their guards and prevented the outside shots. Hayman was “shocked” to be chosen game MVP given that she wasn’t a starter. But Moore said Hayman “had a very good final. It’s great for a coach to have players like Hayman and (guard Mylisa) Henderson coming off the bench. They not only help maintain the same pace but they often lift us above that.” Ferron said “any one of the starting five could have own it. We’re always confident. It’s like coach Moore told us: to believe in what we do and what we’ve worked for. … We knew it would be a tough game. We knew we were good enough to win and our coach just told us to play our game and we’d be alright.” With the win, rookie head coach Moore became the first person to have doubled titles as a player and a coach. Jasiukiewicz said that “I think if we would have played John Abbott the next day, we would have won. We came out on the floor very nervous and made a lot of turnovers.” Jasiukiewicz told The Endeavour that “we had a great time and we almost pulled it off. … Virginia (Judd) had an excellent final game.” Moore said “I think we did a tremendous job against their guards and prevented the outside shot.”

        The all-tourney team featured: MVP Christine Ferron (John Abbott); Virginia Judd (Lethbridge CC); Chris Field (Lethbridge CC); Crystal Caldwell (Capilano); Isabelle Desrochers (Ahuntsic); Tracey Hayman (John Abbott)

        The bronze medalist Ahuntsic Indiennes: Ahuntsic Indiennes: Isabelle Desrochers; Isabelle Tetreault; Evelyn Delisle; Chantal Belanger; Chantal St-Pierre; Carolyn Gascon; coach Pierre Trudeau

        The silver medalist Lethbridge Community College Kodiaks: Virginia Judd; Chris Field; Maxine Wensman; Laurie Hockridge; Carrie Kuntz; Theresa Pecht; Rhonda Wensman; Terri Fields; Michelle Van Staalduinen; coach John Jasiukiewicz

        The gold medalist John Abbott Lady Islanders: Christine Ferron; Tracey Hayman; Sylvia Corbett; Martina Van der Vlist; Catherine Millar; Linda Hazek; Brigitte Edwards; Mylisa Henderson; Tracey Frenette; Vanessa Soungie; coach Lisen Moore; assistant Cam Farquharson; manager Christine Butler