In the opening round, held in Steveston: …………………………………………………… The second-seeded host Steveston Packers, which entered the tourney 31-3, thrashed the 15th-seeded Dawson Creek South Peace Penguins 61-35 as Lori Kemp scored 20 and Cindy Mavety 11. Packers coach Anne Gillrie-Carr told the Richmond Review that “any time you play somebody that you’ve never seen before, the opening game gets a little scary. You get Temas that come in with nothing to lose and often, they’re the toughest team to beat. … I think they were extremely nervous. We were very tentative … playing in front a home crowd. After they got out that mode, I think we really took control of the game … Lori realized we were struggling a bit and, as in previous occasions, she rose to the occasion.” The Colts opened with a 12-0 run but were then held scoreless until Kemp hit a trey in the second quarter. “It’s quite an experience,” South Peace player of the game Angie Lockhart told the Vancouver Province. “To me, this means so much. We didn’t have much to lose and they did, so they were nervous too. I’m very happen. We didn’t expect to hold them in on defence but we did for a long time.” Penguins coach Dale Fleming told the Vancouver Sun that “I told the kids you have to weather the storm for the first five minutes and they did that.” The Penguins also included Angie Lockhart, Joni Ronaldson. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Cranbrook Mount Baker Trojanettes defeated the 13th-seeded West Vancouver Highlanders 67-54 as Linnea Brown scored 15. Five years earlier, weeks before her first high school practice, Brown was diagnosed as having a defective heart. Brown underwent open heart surgery and battled recurring chest pains ever since. Days before the tournament started, she started feeling them again, and for a few days thought she wasn’t going to get the chance to write the final chapters of her prep career at the provincials. She was chosen player of the game. “We’ve been thinking about provincials since day one,” Brown told the Vancouver Province. “I’m hurting a little today but nothing is gonna stop me from playing,” added the senior forward. The Trojanettes rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit. Amy Tutt led the Highlanders with 21. Lori Hallstrom added 15. The Highlanders also included Alison Dunnett, Tara Klassen. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Richmond Colts scorched the 12th-seeded Nanaimo District Islanders 94-52 as Kelly Logan dominated the blocks and scored 25. Sarah Lorimer added 17 and Maureen Mathias 16. “We felt confident we could come in and win, and the numbers said we could win, but you never know,” Logan told the Vancouver Sun. “I usually get nervous before a game but once you get going to just play hard and don’t even think about it.” Colts coach Les Hamaguchi was one of the coaches who predicted a string of upsets, but he needn’t have worried as his Colts easily handled the North Island champs Hamaguchi added that it’s often difficult preparing for unknown teams but “we can’t be too concerned about what the other team does because you really don’t know until the game starts. The only thing we can do is look after ourselves, and I thought gave it an intensive effort.” Hamaguchi told the Richmond Review that “Kelly dominated the way she has on our team most of the year. She’s one of the best players in the province and I think people will realize it after this tournament. We got good contributions from everybody and it was a good way to open. It enabled us to get rid of any butterflies.” The Colts led 53-33 at the half. Jenny (Janay?) Carruthers paced the Islanders with 16. Hilary Whiting added 14 and Nicole Smith 8. The Islanders (coached by Ray Ward) also included Jen Hepples, Sara Jossul. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded New Westminster Hyacks, playing without coach Bob Gair, who was forced to watch from the sidelines because of a rotating teachers strike, escaped with a 55-53 win over the 16th-seeded Prince Rupert Charles Hays Hurricanes. “That was a pretty close game,” Hyack player of the game Martha Craig, who scored 21, told the Vancouver Sun. “Our first game in a tournament is usually a bad one anyway but I’d like to play a lot better than that. And after today, I guess everyone else is too.” Coach Skip Cronk’s Hurricanes, a Double-A school in its first year of existence, started two Grade 10s and two Grade 11s but never folded under the pressure of the older, talent-laden Hyacks. New Westminster, coached by school official Bob Grant, built a 14-point lead by scoring 10 straight points to begin the second half, but the Hurricanes persisted and outscored the Hyacks 17-2 down the stretch before falling two points short. “We don’t give up,” Cronk, who played on the Prince Rupert Rainmakers boys teams in the early 1960s and was a teammate of national team coach Ken Shields when the school won a B.C. title in 1964, told the Sun. “That’s where the pride comes in. Everything you saw today is the stuff I learned in high school. You just keep working and working and working, and eventually it comes. You just can’t give up. Basically, what it came down to today was we didn’t have anything to lose.” New Westminster coach Bob Gair noted “they did a nice job. We outshot them two to one but the idea is to put the ball in the hoop.” Tricia Helin and Judy Carlick each scored 14 to lead the Hurricanes, who also included Marilou Leonin, Emily Wilson, Heather White. …………………………………………………… The unranked Vancouver John Oliver Jokers stunned the 3rd-seeded Victoria Belmont Tomahawks 71-70 in overtime. Jokers coach Wendy Warn told the Vancouver Sun the key was countering Belmont’s size and strength, along with their fast break. “That and thinking positively. You know, ignoring the rankings.” Grade 11 point guard Melissa Talaro dominated the game, scoring 14 and running the show. “She set the whole tone,” said Warn. “I’m very pleased with the way we came out today and never gave up.” Mary Loftus led the Jokers with 15 points. Jenna McMath paced Belmont with 21. “No one was going for the glory today,” forward Lynne Hyland told the Vancouver Province. “It was all for the team.” Hyland, recovering from a bout of tonsillitis, finished with a gash over her left eye, a bleeding nose, a wonky left knee, and 10 points, including back-to-back 10-foot jump shots that put the Jokers ahead 61-57 with 1:38 remaining. Jenna McMath, the Tomahawks’ provincial under-17 team guard, drained a jumper with 34 seconds remaining to tie the game 61-61, and Belmont began the five-minute overtime by scoring the first nine points to take a 70-61 lead. But the Jokers scored the last 10 points, including a Harpreet Dhillon layup off a steal by Monica Szpak with 57 seconds remaining which proved to be the difference. “I’m speechless,” John Oliver coach Wendy Warn told the Province. “Anybody can win if you don’t give up and we just wouldn’t quit.” Belmont (coached by Bill Spotswood) included Jenna McMath, Marcie Rioux, Donna Lovett, Tracy Wodriga, Ann Meijer. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Penticton Lakettes defeated the 11th-seeded Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens 60-47 as Reegan Christenson scored 18. Lori Wilson led the Ravens with 14. The Ravens also included Kyla Miller, Terez Payette, Julie Forrest, Mandy Clark. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Kelowna Owls dumped the 9th-seeded Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks 55-46. The Hawks included Julie Teischrob, Paige Inman, Tamara Connell, Amber Harris, Tanya McCracken. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs edged the 10th-seeded Salmon Arm Jewels 58-52 as Tara Beauregard scored 21. Kwynn Blazina paced the Jewels with 19. The Jewels led 44-40 after three quarters. Jewels coach Terry Michell told the Salmon Arm Observor that “our offence kind of stalled in the fourth quarter and they got six from the line.” The Jewels (coached by Terry Michell) also included Justine Kerridge-Judd, Marie Teece, Christine Kunze, Calico Clark.
In the quarterfinals, the 2nd-ranked Steveston Packers handled 7th-seeded Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs 56-41 as Cindy Mavety scored 19 and Lori Kemp 16. “It’s so exciting,” coach Anne Gillrie-Carre told the Vancouver Sun. “It’s my last year and the last year for the Grade 12s. There’s a tremendous tradition at Steveston. The only reason I came back to coach this year was for this.” Cindy Mavety limited Centaur post Sheri Zimmerman to eight points while scoring 19 despite playing with a sprained knee. “We play a very inside game,” said Centennial coach Karyn Mitchell. “We can shoot from the outside but it doesn’t happen very often. They did a really good job on us.” Steveston led 12-6 after the first quarter and by at least five for the remainder of the contest. Leanne Trotter paced Centennial with nine points. The Packers outscored the Centaurs 11-3 over the final 4:48. The Centaurs also included Amy Cooper, Sherri Zimmerman, Michelle Coulter, Tara Beauregard.
The 5th-seeded Richmond Colts knocked off the 4th-seeded Cranbrook Mount Baker Trojanettes 65-56. The Colts led 38-23 late in the first half before the Trojanettes responded with a 9-0 run to rally within 56-54 with three minutes to play. But Richmond ripped off the final seven points of the contest. Sarah Lorimer led Richmond with 21. Cindy Beck and Kelly Logan each added 14. Colts coach Les Hamaguchi told the Richmond Review that “it was very timely and our best game of the year. It was a character game for us. We were challenged in a lot of areas besides just offence and defence and we were playing a team very determined to make sure that in their senior year, they were going to make the final.” Brandi Weisbecker led Mount Baker with 18. Colts coach Les Hamaguchi told the Vancouver Province that his troops outmuscled the Trojanettes. “They’ve been a second-half club all season,” said Hamaguchi. “So, you have to play them physically and we matched them physical play for physical play.” Richmond took a nine-point lead with 5:03 remaining on a layup by Sarah Lorimer, but the Trojanettes countered with a 9-0 run to make it 56-54 with 2:42 left. However, Mount Baker had four starters with four fouls apiece and were unable to play their usual aggressive game down the stretch. The Trojanettes (coached by Bill Stephens) also included Corey Lancaster, Vinessa Kruger, Brandi Wiesbecker, Linnea Brown, Amanda Reid.
The top-ranked New Westminster Hyacks dumped the 8th-seeded Kelowna Owls 62-47. The Hyacks took command early in the second half with a 23-2 run and never looked back. “Overall, I was much happier with the way we played today,” Hyacks coach Bob Gair told the Vancouver Sun. Martha Craig led New Westminster with 18. The Hyacks held the Owls to just one point in the third quarter, while scoring 15. Kelowna challenged the Hyacks hoop for hoop in the first half, but New Westminster’s box-and-one defence effectively contained Owls’ star Miki Groholski. She scored just 5 of her 15 points in the second half. The Owls (coached by Heather Semeniuk and Tony Taylor) also included Marisa Taylor, Julie Zambon, Karen Bourdage, Karyn Rilkoff.
In the last quarterfinal, the Penticton Lakettes defeated Vancouver’s John Oliver Jokers 83-51. Erin Jones led the Lakettes with 29. Lynne Hyland paced the Jokers with 23. The Jokers (coached by Wendy Warn) also included Priscilla Reddy, Melissa Talaro
In the semi-finals, the Steveston Packers nipped the Penticton Lakettes 60-59 as grade 11 student Linda Calvert, celebrating her birthday, hit two free throws with 22 seconds. Lori Kemp scored 28 and Krista Ediger 11. Penticton was led by Jacquie Hicks 16 points. Erin Jones added 14. Penticton had rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final quarter to lead 58-53 with 2:15 to go. But Kemp hit four straight free throws to cut the margin to one. After Penticton’s Shannon Novak hit one of two free throws, Calvert hit one of two free throws with 46 seconds to go and then 2-2 from the line with 22 seconds to go to give Steveston the win. “I just told myself they were going in – just like practice,” Calvert told the Vancouver Sun. Steveston coach Anne Gillrie-Clark noted “I sure do believe in destiny. Linda is one of our best foul shooters. She doesn’t get rattled. It was her birthday. It had to be.” Cindy Mavety was held to six points, having been in foul trouble for most of the contest. But Mavety was in the game at the end, to block Penticton star Jacquie Hicks’ shot to win with seven seconds to go.
In the other semi, the top ranked New Westminster Hyacks, the tallest team in the tourney, thrashed the 5th-seeded Richmond Colts 52-36 after using their height and a zone to keep the Colts strictly on the perimeter. Megan Simmer led the Hyacks with 20, while Martha Craig added 13. “Their over-all presence is so imposing,” Richmond coach Les Hamaguchi told the Vancouver Sun. “As much as I feel (our players) were ready mentally, they got on the floor and they realized, hey, these kids are pretty big. I’d like to say we were the same team that played the last two days, but we gave them too much respect. It’s a game that’s going to haunt some of our players.” The Hyacks led 28-14 at the half and put the game out of reach with a 12-0 run early in the third quarter. Cindy Beck paced the Colts with 10. Kelly Logan added 8 but star Sarah Lorimer was held to 6.
In the bronze medal match, the Penticton Lakettes went on an 11-point run to build a 20-6 lead and went on to post a 57-46 win over the Richmond Colts. Erin Jones paced the Lakettes with 18. Kelly Logan led the Colts with 16. The Colts (coached by Les Hamaguchi) also included Sarah Lorimer, Erin Hodder, Maureen Matthies, Brooke Rollins, Sarah Lachlan; Stacey Wereboweski, Sarah Quelch, Nicole Leroux, Cindy Beck, Christy Andrews and Sage Berryman.
In the first all Lower Mainland final in 25 years, the Steveston Packers beat back the New Westminster Hyacks bid to repeat as champion. With both New Westminster coach Bob Gair and Steveston coach Anne Gillrie-Carr planning retirements after distinguished careers, the Packers, led by Lori Kemp, Krista Ediger and Cindy Mavety, prevailed 58-53. Two years earlier forward Mavety had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee and was finally returning to play after extensive rehabilitation. Host Steveston took a 32-18 lead at the half. But New Westminster roared back to close within 56-53 with 50 seconds to go, and missed a chance to tie it when Megan Simmer bounced a trey off the rim with 12 seconds to go. Lori Kemp hit two free throws with five seconds to go to seal the win. She finished 8 points and was selected tourney MVP. “We wanted it all season,” Kemp told the Vancouver Sun. “We believed it all the time; we never stopped believing. We wanted to do it for our coaches.” Krista Ediger added that “there was thing feeling that everyone wanted to win it for Miss Gillrie. She’s done so much for us, not just in basketball but in everything. She’s a wonderful person. That’s why everyone wanted to do it for her.” Cindy Mavety led Steveston with 24, as she shredded New Westminster’s zone from the perimeter, while Krista Ediger scored 12, Lori Kemp 8, Jessica Troelsen 6, Linda Calvert 6 and Nadgelin Cliffe 2. Steveston was 10-10 from the line in the second half. New Westminster was paced by Martha Craig’s 19 points. Megan Simmer added 14, Wendy Reid 7, Andrea Nicholson 7, Melanie Batoche 2 and Jennifer Ward 2. Craig noted that “they were shooting really hot. I guess we just weren’t ready to step on the floor. Our Friday was a lot better than our Saturday. But I’m happy, almost.” Coach Anne Gillrie-Carre felt destiny was at play. ‘You know how you have a feeling? I knew they could come back. But I just thought we’d hang in there and keep that edge. I just believed it was meant to be this way.” Gillrie-Carr was also melancholy about her retirement after 13 years at the helm. “I don’t think anybody at any level could ask for a nicer finished than what I received tonight. It’s an exciting and memorable moment. All these people from over the years were here tonight: alumni, players, old friends, colleagues and coaches,” she told the Sun. “There will be a big, empty spot. I’ll miss the camaraderie of the players and coaches. There are lots of strong friendships. It will hit me tomorrow and hit me Nov. 7 (opening day). I’ll be saying, I should be in a gym.” Gillrie-Carre had originally decided not to return this season, but the loyalty and love she got from her players persuaded her to come back for one more try at a title. “We have worked and worked and this is the dream come true,” said a teary Gillrie-Carre. “This is the fairy tale and the end is here. I am so happy for these kids. They worked so hard all year. It’s been a real united effort and here we are, B.C. No. 1.” Steveston got great offensive production from Cindy Mavety and Krista Ediger to build a 17-4 lead with 2:46 left in the first quarter. They held the Hyacks to only two field goals in the second quarter and led 32-18 at the half. But the Hyacks never quit and, behind the tough, inside play of forward Martha Craig, outscored the Packers 11-2 over the final 3:40 of the third quarter, pulling to within five at 42-37. Hyacks were within three twice in the final 2:21, including 56-53 on a short jumper by Sonya Fuoss. But Packers’ Lori Kemp went to the free throw line with five seconds remaining and hit both ends of a one-and-one to make the five-point final. “I was really worried there for a while. We started to get ourselves in foul trouble a little bit and I knew they were going to take Martha right at us,” added Gillrie-Carre. “But I thought our offside defence was really the key to the game.” Kemp’s ball-handling and decision making were exceptional. Gillrie-Carr told the Richmond Review that “this is destiny. This is just so exciting and probably the best thing about it was sharing it with all these people. I just can’t believe it happened. Right now, I’m dazed. I think it will hit tomorrow.” Mavety said “I’m just happy we won. We pulled together for (coach Gillrie-Carr) and we knew we could do it.”
The bronze medalist Penticton Lakettes: Erin Jones; Jacquie Hicks; Shannon Novak; Regan Christianson; Pam Schnupf; coach Len Cox; coach Neil Stenseth
The silver medalist New Westminster Hyacks: Megan Simmer; Martha Craig; Sonya Fuoss; Wendy Reid; Andrea Nicholson; Melanie Batoche; Jennifer Ward; coach Bob Gair
The gold medalist Steveston Packers: Lori Kemp; Krista Ediger; Cindy Mavety; Linda Calvert; Jessica Troelsen; Nadgelin Cliffe; Julie Sopko; Monica Stavely; Tori Pettipiece; Val Turner; Krista Ediger; Lara Riben; Jen Ammer; Masa Konno; coach Anne Gillrie-Carre; assistant Doug Stavely; assistant Mike Simmons; assistant Chrissy Lam