In the quarterfinals, held in Red Deer, the Calgary St. Mary’s Saints defeated the host Red Deer Lindsay Thurber Raiders 47-44 as Mieke VanderValk scored 21 and Julie Courage 9. Allison Stuart paced the Raiders with 17. Heide van Loon added 8 and Tracey Mallett 6. The Raiders hit .320 from the floor. In the second half, after a Saints foul, officials gave the ball to St. Mary’s, instead of Thurber. Officials said it wasn’t a correctable error. On the next play, Calgary hit a free throw. Courage iced it with a layup with three seconds to play. Thurber coach Sandre Goheen told the Red Deer Advocate “that could have been a three-point swing. … I thought we had less turnovers than in previous games.” Van Loon said “we were nervous. That hurt our offence. But the crowd certainly helped our defence.” St. Mary’s coach Barry Calon said the noise was incredible. “We used hand signals as well as verbal signals on the court. Still, it wasn’t easy.” The Saints press generate a raft of turnovers. “That caused a few problems,” Calon said. The Raiders (coached by Goheen) also included Cindy Friesen, Adreienne Hull, Marcia Guenther, Lori Jaffray, Judy Kwan, Nan Swanson, Darcie Kruger, Angela Lajeunesse and Jennifer Mitchell.
The Calgary Western Canada Redmen clubbed the Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans 69-53 as Lisa Bacigalupi scored 18 and Megan Koch 16. Malaika Barrife paced the Titans with 16. The Titans (coached by Don Barrett) also included Lara Levesque, Sandra Bonneville.
The Sherwood Park Salisbury Sabres clipped the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Clipper Queens 47-41 as Avrell Forbes scored 13 and Karen Brydon 12. Kris French led the Rams with 21. The Clipper Queens (coached by Larry Baker, assisted by Lana Shanks) included Sarah Hunt, Jennifer McClain, Tara Orser, Lori Yantz, Michelle Holt, Amy Hornberger, Tami Friesen, Alison Sandilands, Alicia Pace, Jodi Baker and Jenna Korub.
In the last quarterfinal, the Taber W.R. Myers Rebels defeated the Leduc Tigers 59-51 as Tammy Rombough scored 19, Allison Schneider 16 and Michelle Taylor 12. Myers coach Cheryl Theodore said an easy opening game would give her troops time to adjust to tougher action. Lisa Harmatiuk paced the Tigers with 13. Heather Wagner added 13. The Tigers also included Heather Huber.
In the semis, the Calgary Western Canada Redmen whipped the Taber W.R. Myers Rebels 69-36 as Lisa Bacigalupi scored 15, Megan Koch 11 and Judy Dyck 10. Allison Schneider paced the Rebels with 12. Michelle Taylor added 8 and Stacey Wallace 8.
In the other semi, the Sherwood Park Salisbury Sabres defeated the Calgary St. Mary’s Saints 42-32 as Karen Brydon scored 15.
In the bronze medal match, the Calgary St. Mary’s Saints defeated the Taber W.R. Myers Rebels 46-38 as Mieke VanderValk scored 13 and Lori Anne MacDougall 8. Hollie Nelson paced the Rebels with 14. Allison Schneider added 8 and Stacy Wallace 8. The Rebels (coached by Cheryl Theodore) also included Michelle Taylor, Tammy Rombough, Bernadette Felesky, Deanna Bullock, Joanne Jochem, Rachelle Grant and Jackie Shimbesi.
In the final, the Calgary Western Canada Redmen defeated the Sherwood Park Salisbury Sabres 56-41 as Lisa Bacigalupi scored 16 and Jo Clark 10. The Redmen led 32-20 at the half. Western Canada coach Anne Smith told the Red Deer Advocate that “I was a little afraid we’d come up flat. … I figured if we played up to our potential, we should win. … This was an exceptional group of girls. They worked hard all season. They deserved this.” Salisbury coach Jim Lazaruk said “to have any chance, we figured we’d have to play well offensively early, which didn’t happen. But you have to give them credit. They have an exceptional team. I didn’t see any weaknesses. They could play an outside or inside game. It didn’t matter.”
The bronze medalist Calgary St. Mary’s Saints: Mieke VanderValk; Lori Anne MacDougall; Julie Courage; Jennifer Stengler; coach Barry Calon
The silver medalist Sherwood Park Salisbury Sabres: Avrell Forbes; Avril Forbes; Jen Jensen; Karen Brydon; coach Jim Lazaruk; assistant Ken Short
The gold medalist Calgary Western Canada Redmen: Meagan Koch; Lisa Bacigalupi; Michelle Johnson; Judy Dyck; Jo Clark; Lynette Lepan; Denise Page; coach Jane-Anne Smith; coach Cheryl Theodore