In the opening round, held in Kamloops: …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded host Kamloops Westsyde Whundas, who entered the draw 21-1, defeated the 15th-seeded Fernie Falcons 83-25 as Cindie Edamura scored 18 and Megan Scott 16. The Falcons (coached by John Mill) included Chrystal Wilkinson, Teresa Caulfield, Tanya Baker, Tanya Bossio, Danielle Harrison, Joyelle Wentzell, Tracey Siska and Wendy Leeper. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Prince George Kelly Road Roadrunners clubbed the 11th-seeded Vancouver Britannia Bruins 67-41 as Naryn Watt scored 37 and Amber Stephen 17. Roadrunners coach Bill Perrin told the Prince George Gazette that “it was a good team effort for us. They have a very big girl (Amber Hall) who’s about 6-2 and we did a good job to stop her.” The Bruins (coached by Mike Evens) also included Elaine Soo, Sandy Guan. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions spanked the 14th-seeded Winfield George Elliot Coyotes (then the Dominos) 70-39. The Coyotes (coached by Barbara Cook) included Lindsay Potter, Nicole Jarvis, Lane Elders. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes bombed the 16th-seeded Nanaimo Wellington Wildcats 64-32 as Alexis Wright scored 12 and Natasha Johnson 10. Condorettes co-coach Catherine Erricson said told the Prince George Citizen that “everyone played quite a bit. Kirstin Johns got the player of the game even though she only got 8 points but that was a tough call. All the girls played really well.” The Wildcats (coached by Jack Arnold) included Vicki Henderson, Angela Warnecke, Ericka Annesley, Deena Sheepwash, Jenna Vink. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Burns Lake Lake District Lakers edged the 9th-seeded Mission Hatzic Crusaders 66-64 in overtime as Erika Stoner scored 18 and Rachelle Van Zanten 13. The score was knotted at 57 after regulation. Van Zanten hit two free throws in the extra session to pull out the win for the Lakers. The Crusaders (coached by Bruce Langford) included Gen Macdonell, Lisa Krontz, Anne Kravebaq. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Pitt Meadows Marauders defeated the 13th-seeded Campbell River Robron Breakers 62-58. The Breakers (coached by Lome Compton) included Lennal Ludwikowski, Karen Moore, Samantha Winslow. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Castlegar Stanley Humphries Rockets nipped the 7th-seeded Langley D.W. Poppy Red Hawks 39-38. The Redhawks included Kirsten Robinson, Shelley Chernoff, Nicole Schubert. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Vancouver Little Flower Academy Angels dispatched the 12th-seeded Pleasant Valley Sinners 56-44 as Julie Kaulius scored 22 and Pam Paralaso 10. The Angels led 35-20 at the half. Nicole Bongers paced the Sinners with 18. The Sinners (coached by Debbie Murphy, manager Gisele Charlebois, trainer Linda Sturt) also included Nicole Malysh, Farah Aly, Louise Bouchard, Louise Bouchard, Leah West, Chantelle Fuhr, Becky Price and Lorna Berndsen.
In the quarterfinals, the 2nd-seeded Kamloops Westsyde Whundas clubbed the 10th-seeded Castlegar Stanley Humphries Rockettes 64-51. The Rockettes (coached by Jack Closkey and Doug Hickey) included Wendy Closely, Rhonda Daw, Tamara Rezansoff.
The top-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes torched the 8th-seeded Burns Lake Lake District Lakers 72-41 as Kristin Johns scored 20, Alexis Wright 10, Andria Schaal 9, Sonja Janson 8 and Natasha Johnson 8. The Condorettes led 34-18 at the half. Kerry Funk led the Lakers with 12. Lori Peterson added 10. The Lakers (coached by Peter Nalleweg) also included Rachel Van Zanten, Erika Stoner, Pam Mattman, Birget Wilson. Nalleweg told the Lake District News “they played tough defence and we just couldn’t solve it.”
The 5th-seeded Vancouver Little Flower Academy Angels edged the 4th-seeded Pitt Meadows Marauders 52-50. The Marauders (coached by John Rocca) included Brandee Fort, Jody McKenzie.
In the last quarterfinal, the 6th-seeded Prince George Kelly Road Roadrunners edged the 3rd-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Pride 60-57 as Naryn Watt scored 30. The Lions led 20-11 after one quarter. The Roadrunners led 29-28 at the half. Roadrunners coach Bill Perrin told the Prince George Citizen “that’s a pretty big one, I won’t pretend otherwise. When the game was on the line in the last minute and a half, Amy Fuson made two for two from the foul line. Amber Stephen made two for two from the foul line and Kim Greenough canned on from outside.” Perrin added that the difference was the rebounding of Jane Preston and Kim Greenough, the defence of Christa Schultz and a lift off the bench from Lynette Gagnon. “She grabbed some key boards, hit two free throws and scored some key points. She did a great job. I just don’t think we were intimidated.” The Pride (coached by Rocky Vitale) included Alexis Dunkley, Janice Mcintosh, Beth Tomczyk, Robin Wood, Beth Tomczyk, Becki Edwards.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Kamloops Westsyde Whundas stomped the Prince George Kelly Road Roadrunners 84-59 as Cindie Edamura scored 26 and Megan Scott 24. The Whundas led 50-33 at the half. Naryn Watt led the Roadrunners with 30. Amy Fuson added 11. Roadrunners coach Bill Perrin told the Prince George Citizen that the game was lost in the first half. “Both their provincial team players were smoking. They’re very good on transition. If you lose the ball, they’re running it up the court really fast. They were pushing it up the court hard all night.”
In the other semi, the top-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes edged the Vancouver Little Flower Academy Angels 66-61 as Kristin Johns scored 17, Alexis Wright 16, Jackie Richards 13 and Natasha Johnson 12. Julie Kaulius led the Angels with 24. Johns hit a trey with two minutes to play to give the Condorettes a 62-61 lead, a jumper with 54 seconds remaining to build the margin to three and then won a key jump ball with 14 seconds left to all but ice the win. Condorettes coach Al Erricson said told the Prince George Citizen that “we were behind for more of that game than we were ahead, so I would have to call that a very big scare. It’s not a matter than we played poorly as much as Little Flower came out and played really well.”
In the bronze medal match, the Vancouver Little Flower Academy Angels defeated the 6th-seeded Prince George Kelly Road Roadrunners 64-60 as Amy Kanakos scored 21. Naryn Watt led the Roadrunners with 28. Amy Fuson added 8. The Roadrunners (coached by Bill Perrin) also included Jane Preston, Kim Greenough, Sara Stevens, Amber Stephen, Christa Schultz, Lynette Gagnon.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Kamloops Westsyde Whundas broke the Lambrick Park stranglehold in 1993, when MVP Cindie Edamura keyed a 57-54 victory over the top-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes after rallying her teammates from a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit. Cindie Edamura finished with 13. Megan Scott notched 19 and Julie Anderson 13. Duchess Park was led by Kirstin Johns’ 16 points. Natasha Johnson added 12. “I’m just numb,” Whundas coach Bob Bridges told Kamloops This Week. “I don’t know what to tell you. They played tremendous basketball and they did not give up. They are a tremendous basketball team.” The Condorettes led 13-12 after one quarter. The Whundas led 27-24 at the half. Bridges said that Condorette Jackie Richards, the defensive player of the tournament, did an exceptional defensive job on tournament MVP Cindie Edamura, who didn’t score until there was two minutes left to play in the first half. Megan Scott led the Whundas with 19. Edamura added 13 and Julie Anderson 13. “Cindie’s a player. She’ll figure out a way to get open – she’s a tremendous athlete,” said Bridges. Kirstin Johns led the Condorettes with 16. Natasha Johnson added 12. Condorettes coach Al Erricson told the Prince George Citizen that “one thing you hope for in any games throughout the year and especially in playoffs, is that you don’t walk away with any regrets in terms of did you leave anything behind. And all the players, I believe, gave their best effort and worked as hard as they could. They can walk away from that game with no regrets. … We have to accept the fact that even though a lot of people predicted us to be champions, in this particular case, it didn’t happen. Our record ends at 36-2. I told the girls they had a great year. I told them to be proud of themselves.” Starter Alexis Wright, who missed most of the game after being sidelined in the first quarter with an ankle injury, said “at first, it didn’t even feel like we lost but when we saw them cutting down the nets and getting their banner and everything, that’s when it really hit us.”
The bronze medalist Vancouver Little Flower Academy Angels: Amy Kanakos; Julie Kaulius; Sarah Kaulius; Pam Paralaso; coach Debbie Smallwood
The silver medalist Prince George Duchess Park Condorettes: Kirstin Johns; Natasha Johnson; Jackie Richards; Alexis Wright; Sonya Janzen; Lindy Krescy; Andria Schaal; Lindsay Harrison; Leah Theesen; Erin Mahaffey; Rose Vukovic; Kirsten Robinson; coach Jim Erricson; coach Catherine Erricson; assistant Mike Foucher; manager Jen Duya (a transfer student from Europe who wasn’t allowed to suit up in the playoffs because she was 20 years old, which was over the BCAAA age limit).
The gold medalist Kamloops Westsyde Whundas: Cindie Edamura; Megan Scott; Julie Anderson; coach Bob Bridges