Final regular season standings (9): Fanshawe (15-1); Humber (15-1); Mohawk (11-5); George Brown (8-8); Seneca (8-8); Niagara (7-9); Durham (6-10); Redeemer (2-14); and St. Lawrence-Kingston (0-16).
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Durham Lords: Julie Goedhuis, Collen Cherwaty, Heidi Brown, Heidi Wayne, Melissa Jazbec, Cynthia Miller, Jennifer Jones, Sharon Cook, Jackie Green, Collinda Thompson, Katherine Stasiuk, Stacey Thurman, Stacey Rekstis, Vanessa Gibson, Leigh Anne Copeland, coach Ernie Rainbow
Redeemer Royals: Janine Vannoord, Deb Vanderstelt, Michelle Schouten, Christine Hogerty, Shannon Panjer, Lori Anne Stageman, Marissa Vandervean, Geraldine Zietsma, Leona Vanderwier, Paula Dieuwland, Becky Shain and Dwendolyn Julian.
St. Lawrence-Kingston Vikings: Cindy Tindal, Kata Tindal, Jayne Hamilton, Meredeth Campbell, Shannon Norris, Terri Barker, Shelley Spooner, Christy McMurray, Shana Gardiner, Kimberly McIntosh, Natasha Bulgajewski, Laura Evans, Debre McIntosh, Angela Raymond, Candace Misseau, Georgina Wilkinson, Michelle Leavoy and Angela Jones.
In the quarterfinals, held in Oshawa, the Seneca Scouts defeated the George Brown Huskies 61-49. The Huskies included Sandrise James, Charmaine Warwick, Maureen Rooney, Ingrid Gayle, Charmaine Edwards, Suzette Simpson, Aida Gabriel, Joanne Gomez, Yvette Wheeler, Theresa Strong, Lori Peterson, Antoinette Chintoh, Judity Spencer, Diane Lockhart, Wilda Wong and Wendy Malabanan.
In the other quarterfinal, the Mohawk Mountaineers nipped the Niagara Knights 63-62 in overtime. The Knights included Diana Dipietro, Julie McLaren, Kelly Smith, Shelly Doncaster, Shelly Holden, Jennifer Bilger, Bonnie Berger, Jennifer House, Tiffany Panchen, Shennon Simpell, Shannon Jurkin, Amanda Benoit, Lisa Coulas and Melanie Woronchak.
In the semifinals, the Mohawk Mountaineers upset the 2nd-seeded Humber Hawks 62-61 as Stacy Adams hit a free throw on the final play of the game. Nicole Beal led the Mountaineers with 20. Brenda Billington added 10, Shelley Lang 9, Kathy Knox 8, Stacey Adams 6, Sheryl Yee 5 and Jen McNaughton 4. Corrine Smith led the Hawks with 10. Deborah Henry added 9, Janetta Paris 8, Wendy Aldebert 8, Jackie Dore 6, Carla Bremner 5, Jessica Boyle 4, Christine Weber 4, Heather Curran 4 and Tina D’Antonio 3. Beal was chosen player of the game for the Mountaineers, while Smith earned the laurels for the Hawks. The Hawks led 32-29 after a tight first half. In the last minute, the Hawks took a 61-60 lead. Humber led 61-60 in the final minute and a disputed call at midcourt against Hawk Christine Weber put the Mountaineers at the line with 2.6 seconds to play, where they pulled out the win.
In the other semi, the Fanshawe Falcons beat the Seneca Scouts 55-51 as Becky Huntley and Sandra Brulotte each scored 14, Paula Rich 10, Pam Skinner 8, Michelle Martin 7 and Jenny Granger 2. Kerry Chambers led the Scouts with 14 and was chosen Seneca’s player of the game. Kelley Behnan added 12, Liesa Ratz 8, Ann Darlington 6, Natasha Owen 5, Denise West 2, Michelle Defreitas 2 and Kelley Behnan 2. Brulotte was chosen player of the game for the Falcons, while Chambers earned the laurels for the Scouts.
In the bronze, the Humber Hawks thrashed the Seneca Scouts 74-50. The Hawks came out quickly, built a 23-4 lead early and Seneca couldn’t recover. Humber went on to down the Scouts 74-50 to win bronze. “We learned this year,” Seneca coach Dwight Jonker said. “That was our goal, to learn. And everyone except for Kelley was a rookie and so you’re looking at the same team coming back. I’m hoping this type of experience will be good for them.” Janetta Paris led the Hawks with 16. Jackie Dore added 12, Heather Curran 10, Wendy Aldebert 8, Corrine Smith 8, Deborah Henry 6, Jessica Boyle 6, Kim Poulin 2, Carla Bremner 2, Christine Weber 2 and Tina D’Antonio 2. Kerry Chambers paced the Scouts with 15. Ann Marie Darlington added 13, Liesa Ratz 7, Toni Wilson 5, Michelle Defrietas 5, Natasha Owen 4 and Denise West 1. The Scouts also included Kelley Behnan, Heidi Fischer, Cindy Wallace, Marion Mayes, Sandra Wiltshire and Jennifer Turfus. Paris was chosen player of the game for the Hawks, while Darlington earned the laurels for the Scouts. The Hawks broke to a 23-4 lead and were never threatened. They led 41-25 at the half. Hawks coach Jim Henderson told The Coven that “I said to them, because they were still pretty down in the morning, that if we really think that we are champions, and really think that we are the best team in the league and should have been in that championship game, then we better go out and show that. I told them not to hang their heads, feel sorry themselves but to get out there and realize that if Fanshawe beat Seneca by only four, we better go out there and beat them by a lot more than that. … It’s a special kind of team. It’s rare but it’s the type of team that a coach loves to have, that everybody gets to play so that you don’t have those two or three women at the end of the bench who don’t get in until it’s blow-out time.” Second-year forward Jessica Boyle was still upset over the foul call the night before in the game against Mohawk. “I thought it was brutal, unfair and should not have been made. I think we were the best team here and we should have been the ones going to the nationals but we can’t do anything about it now. All-Star forward Corrine Smith said “we spoke to six or seven officials and they said a call like that should not have been made especially with time running out and it was a tie game.” Paris said “we depended on each other to get everybody up and into thinking about our game. A lot of us, after the game, thought that we were just going to give up but we said no, we’re going to go home with something rather than nothing. We’re going to come
here and show everybody that we were the ones that should have won the gold. It took a long time for us to get together but finally at the end we pulled together and accomplished something rather than nothing.”
In the final, the top-seeded Fanshawe Falcons defeated the Mohawk Mountaineers 60-48 as Becky Huntley scored 15, Michelle Martin 14, Paula Rich 14, Jenny Granger 7, Sandra Brulotte 6 and Pam Skinner 4. Stacey Adams paced the Mountaineers with 14. Kathy Knox added 10, Shelley Lang 9, Brenda Billington 7, Sheryl Yee 6 and Nicole Beal 2. Martin was chosen player of the game for the Falcons, while Adams earned the laurels for the Mountaineers. The Falcons led 32-21 at the half. Tournament MVP Sandra Brulotte told The Coven that earning the MVP was “a great feeling. It’s something you always dream of as a kid. It’s a great honour.”
The bronze medalist Humber Hawks: Janetta Paris; Corrine Smith; Deborah Henry; Wendy Aldebert; Jackie Dore; Carla Bremner; Jessica Boyle; Christine Weber; Heather Curran; Tina D’Antonio; Lisa Cyronne; Kim Poulin; Jennifer South; coach Jim Henderson; assistant Denise Perrier
The silver medalist Mohawk Mountaineers: Brenda Billington; Shelley Lang; Nicole Beal; Stacey Adams; Sheryl Yee; Jen McNaughton; Kathy Knox; Ivy Naguit; Tiffany Dinning; Amanda Fagan; Angeline Bouwman; Lianne Gudgin; Michelle Carriere; Tammy Strauss; Kelly Stevens; Kris Banakiewicz; coach Earl Begg
The gold medalist Fanshawe Falcons: Paula Rich; Becky Huntley; Michelle Martin; Sandra Brulotte; Jenny Granger; Pam Skinner; Michelle Martin; Carrie Ramsay; Annette Rice; Jennifer Roberts; Cheri Heslop; Dionne Greavers; Stephanie Brewer; coach Jeff Farrugia