In the quarterfinals, held in Lethbridge, the Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans trounced the Grande Prairie Totems 60-42. “We believed we had enough to go to the city final,” Titans coach Bryan Anderson told the Edmonton Journal. “Our secondary goal was to be good enough to win it. But I wasn’t sure, to tell you the truth, that we were good enough to handle the (provincial qualifying) games. … If we go to the final, it would be a real feather in our cap.” The Titans had little trouble disposing of Grande Prairie. In the first half, they shut down the two key offensive threats and held Grande Prairie to just 12 points, while building a 20-point lead. “I guess we didn’t stay focused the whole game, which we should have,” said Titan star Sarah Hilton. “But it’s good to have that game out of the way. It’s a lot off our shoulders.” Grande Prairie assistant Kim Pomeroy said experience and depth were the keys to Ainlay’s victory. “We did expect it to be a little bit closer but in the first half, they just weren’t ready,” she said. “Just nervous and it was the first time for a lot of the girls.” Hilton said “I was scared that maybe we weren’t focusing enough on this game ‘cause we were all nervous to play Grande Prairie. We had no idea what to expect. I think we did quite well. Until the end.” Hilton contributed 10 points while Daisy Groff topped Ainlay scorers with 11. Sarah Hilton added 10. Grande Prairie’s Terri Gascon scored 17. The Totems (coached by Irene Freisz, assisted by Pomeroy) also included Cheryl Stonehocker, Kim Harris, Sasha Urness, Christie Ching.
The 2nd-seeded Red Deer Lindsay Thurber Raiders nipped the Calgary Henry Wise Wood Warriors 68-66 as Tina Holmes scored 14 and Angela Lajeunesse 16. Allison Davies led the Warriors with 25. The Warriors also included Cathy Payne.
The top-seeded Calgary Western Canada Redmen crushed the Raymond Comets 81-53. The Redmen led 37-30 at the half and took command as Carolyn Wares went to work in the blocks. Wares finished with 23. Ronna Wright led the Comets with 25. Robin Fraser added 11 and Inga Anderson 11. The Comets (coached by Cam Burr) also included Kim Lawlor, Bonnie Donaldson, Ronna Wright, Amy Stevens, Roni McGeachy, Tia Mendenhall, Dena Donaldson, Shanna Depew, Jane Depew, Mandy Depew and Amber Meeks.
In the last quarterfinal, the Lethbridge Catholic Central Cittens defeated the Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans 72-67. “I didn’t think anyone on our team played well, but we did work hard,” Catholic Central coach Cal O’Brien told the Lethbridge Herald. “I think a lot of the problem was first game nerves.” Crystal Kain led the Cittens with 24, Crystal McPherson 15 and reserve Helen Kollias added 12. “That was Helen’s best game in a month. She made some clutch baskets for us.” Said O’Brien. “She’s been injured for quite some time, so this was good to see. … They were fairly quick and they were as good as I’ve seen all year from the foul line. I think they only missed one foul shot in the first half,” said O’Brien. The Cittens broke to a 22-10 lead but the Spartans answered with 12 straight. The game was tied at half. Lilliana Solano and Danah Townsend each scored 16 to pace O’Leary. The Spartans (coached by Ron Kutney) also included Michelle Tiano, Marina Goveia.
In the semis, the Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans defeated the 2nd-seeded Red Deer Lindsay Thurber Raiders 61-42. “A bunch of us talked all night,” Titans guard Kristen Hutchinsen told the Edmonton Journal. “We said things like, ‘we need this. We want this. They’re ours’.” Coach Bryan Anderson said “I just talked to two or three of them, kids who had to perform better. All of those kids, especially defensively, did a really good job.” Lauren Binnendyk noted that “I knew we were better. I just wanted to beat them because it’s kind of embarrassing to lose two games in a row (during the regular season to the Raiders) when you know you’re better. So I was more pumped than nervous.” Binnendyk led the Titans with 15. Gail Driscoll added 14. “We knew we just had to do a job. We just wanted to make it happen,” said Deanne Moser. Angela Lajeunesse led the Raiders with 12. Tina Holmes added 8. Raiders coach Sandre Goheen told the Red Deer Advocate that “it was one of those games. We just weren’t there. It’s not that Harry Ainlay played great defence. We just couldn’t score. We only put up 46 shots and you can’t win with that many.”
In the other semi, the top-seeded Calgary Western Canada Redmen defeated the Lethbridge Catholic Central Cittens 74-51 as Denise Page and Kristi Clark each scored 21, primarily from the perimeter. Carolyn Wares added 14 points and 17 boards. “They’re the best high school team I’ve seen in years,” said Cittens’ coach Cal O’Brien. “We worked hard at stopping their big girl (Carolyn Wares) and did a reasonable job, but they killed us from the outside. They have so many weapons.” Crystal Kain led the Cittens with 18. Crystal McPherson added 15.
In the bronze medal match, the Red Deer Lindsay Thurber Raiders clocked the Lethbridge Catholic Central Cittens 76-54 as Angela Lajeunesse scored 39 on 13-15 from the line. Tina Holmes added 19. Raiders coach Sandre Goheen told the Red Deer Advocate that “it was a totally different basketball team tonight. The girls were in the game from the start.” Crystal McPherson led the Cittens with 18. Crystal Kain added 17. The Cittens (coached by Cal O’Brien, assisted by Lorraine Beaudin) also included Robin Murphy, Helen Kollias, Candice O’Connor, Jennifer Pawlak, Janine Vaselenak, Viola Cassis, Cynthia Corbiere, Colene Graham and Laura Simons.
In the girls’ final, the top-ranked Calgary Western Canada Redmen won their third straight provincial title with a 56-40 victory over the Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans. The Redmen finished (32-0) on the season. “I don’t know what to say, it’s a great feeling,” Denise Page, who scored 18, told the Edmonton Journal. The Redmen 24-19 at the half. “At the start of the second half, they came out strong and we were hoping too,” said Lindsay Burgess, who lead Ainlay’s scorers with 12 points. But they got the first point, got the ball back, and got the next two . . . we couldn’t pick it up from there.” Lauri Robinson added 17 for the Redmen. Lindsay Burgess paced the Titans with 12. Redmen head coach Lorraine Smith turned over the coaching reins to Jane Anne Smith days before the tourney because she was expecting a baby. The Titans were playing without Stacey Mulcahy, who re-tore her ACL at the start of the postseason playoffs.
The bronze medalist Red Deer Lindsay Thurber Raiders: Angela Lajeunesse; Tina Holmes; Elaine Craig; Tanya Ries; Melissa Weber; Jillian Currie; Jordana Kassen; coach Sandre Goheen
The silver medalist Harry Ainlay Titans: Sarah Hilton; Daisy Groff; Gail Driscoll; Kristen Hutchinson; Lauren Binnendyk; Deanne Moser; Karli Anderson; Stacey Mulcahy; Lindsay Burgess; coach Bryan Anderson
The gold medalist Calgary Western Canada Redmen: Denise Page; Kristi Clark; Lauri Robinson; Shannon Jones; Carolyn Wares; coach Lorraine Smith; coach Jane Anne Smith