In the opening round, held at North Vancouver’s Sutherland Secondary: …………………………………………………… The 15th-seed Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons stunned the 2nd-seeded Victoria Lambrick Park Lions, which was stepping up to Triple-A play for the first time, 71-68. Amy Ewert led Kitsilano with 37 on 12-18 from the floor. “It just goes to show that any team can beat any team on a given night. Or, in this case, on a given 8:30 in the morning,” Ewert, who just missed a triple-double with 12 boards and 8 steals, told the Vancouver Province. “We were very anxious to get playing. We just came out hard. …” The Demons, in their first provincial game since 1959, needed to connect from outside against the Pride’s stingy zone defence. They certainly did, hitting .530 from the floor in the first half, en route to a 43-31 lead. They also needed to shut down Park standout Carli Halpenny and they pulled that off as well, as their box-and-one defence held the 6-foot-3 powerhouse to 8 shots and 19 points. “I was very, very nervous,” said Kitsilano post Lianne Dolan, who defended Halpenny. “Carli’s just an awesome player, and we knew that they were one of the best teams in the province.” Lambrick Park seemed to lack a sense of urgency. They cut into the margin in the second half, getting to 52-51 in the final seconds of the third quarter, but Ewert took a feed from Michelle Huntington on an in-bounds play and sank an acrobatic lay-in at the buzzer to grab the momentum back for the Demons. The Pride took a 60-59 lead in the fourth quarter on a Tina Thompson’s free throw with 4:53 to play. But Kitsilano promptly went on a 12-3 run to clinch it. “I remembered that Argyle had taken Salmon Arm to overtime (before losing 80-77) in the first game last year,” said Kitsilano coach Paul Chiarenza. “I remembered that Salmon Arm had travelled the night before, and that they spent the night in strange beds while Argyle got to sleep at home. I figured we had that going for us, too.” Lambrick Park coach Rocky Vitale added: “They played the type of game they had to play to beat us, and we did things to help them.” The Lions (coached by Vitale) also included Tricia Basi, Krista Edwards, Melissa Edwards. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Maple Ridge Ramblers thrashed the 12th-seeded Cranbrook Mount Baker Trojanettes 70-49 by pilfering 24 balls and forcing 37 turnovers. The Trojanettes included Tracy Gyurkovits. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Maple Ridge Thomas Haney Thunder pounded the 13th-seeded Richmond J.N. Burnett Breakers 81-35. Pauline Manzano led the Breakers with 13. Pauline Manzano scored 13. The Breakers (coached by Bill Lambert) also included Lizzie Denison, Leslie Manzano. Breakers coach Bill Lambert told the Richmond Review that “I had hoped we would play a little better.” …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Salmon Arm Jewels defeated the 16th-seeded Terrace Caledonia Kermodes 87-31 after exploding out of the blocks with an 18-0 run. Jewels point guard Erin Gibbons said that watching Lambrick Park lose the tournament opener “really made us concentrate. We definitely didn’t want it to happen to us.” All 12 Jewels scored at least a bucket. “It was really tough on them,” Kermodes coach Jorge Silva told the Terrace News. “Salmon Arm was so quick. It was something the girls haven’t seen all season.” …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Richmond Hugh McRoberts Strikers dumped the 14th-seeded Prince George Polarettes 98-34. Point guard Charmene Adams scored 33 on 16-22 from the floor, 7 boards and 6 assists. Carrie Rogers added 26 on 9-14 from the floor and 8-10 from the line, while Tanya Neufeld notched 16 The Strikers went on an 11-0 run in the second quarter to take command. Forward Tanya Neufeld said the Lambrick Park loss also prompted focus. “It really made us want to come out and play well.” Strikers coach Trish Nicholson told the Richmond Review that “our shooting percentage (.520) still isn’t where it could be. … I think we were nervous.” Holly McLeod led the Polarettes with 18. The Polarettes included Helen Liu, Trina Hoppe. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Victoria Mount Douglas Rams defeated the 9th-seeded New Westminster Hyacks 57-51. The Hyacks (coached by Ken Bowman) included Kristine Jack, Stephanie Huber, Kim Neiszner, Amelia Sandoe, Carly Burns. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Mission Heritage Park Highlanders dispatched the 11th-seeded Victoria St. Michaels University Blue Jaguars 76-47. The Jaguars (coached by Tara Gallaway, assisted by Sue Tomio and Brian Cheng) whose squad included Steve Nash’s younger sister Joann, as well as Kim Lobb, Donna Lee, Kathryn Watson, Vania Gamache, Krystal O’Byrne, Emily Clough, Carys Jones, Kanoux Larsen, Deanna Age, Kristina Kerr, Kathryn Wynn and Coille Atchley. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks clipped the 7th-seeded North Vancouver Argyle Pipers 54-43 as Erin Lee scored 13, Leanne Kiley 12 and Courtney Inman 10. Hawks coach Rudy Teichrob told the Abbotsford News that “we were ahead the whole game. Our defensive play was excellent. Nobody scored a lot but they all scored.” Assistant Pat Lee added that “it was one of our best performances of the year. And perfect timing.”
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Salmon Arm Jewels dumped the 8th-seeded Victoria Mount Douglas Rams 72-51 to earn yet another Final Four appearance. Jewels coach Terry Michell told the Vancouver Province that “I don’t know if you get tired of finishing second or third or fourth. But we’re happy to make the final four. That’s kind of like our goal every year. Of course, when you get to the final four you want to win it all but there are so many variables. It’s not a monkey on my back. Maybe people think that but no one has said it to me. We get close on a regular basis, and I always like to see us win for our seniors, because it’s very important for them. I have another year (to win), but the seniors don’t.” The Jewels ball movement was stellar. Salmon Arm shot 29-66 (.439) from the floor as point guard Erin Gibbons scored 20, dished 8 assists, grabbed 4 boards and had 5 steals. Marlese Redding added 16 and Amy Jonker 12. “Finishing second or third is better than not coming at all,” said point guard Erin Gibbons. “We’re always happy to be here. Winning would be nice. Right now, we’re just worried about continuing to play well.” Lindsay Anderson paced the Rams with 21 points and 14 boards. “We lost because they executed better than us and they shot a lot better than us,” Rams coach Brett Westcott told the Victoria Times Colonist. “They exposed our weaknesses – a short bench and a lack of shooting.” Ella Kinloch hit 2-16 from the floor, while Angela Kendall was 4-20. Lindsay Anderson’s defence suffered because of tendinitis problems in her knees. The Rams (coached by Westcott) also included Anna Kinloch.
The 4th-seed Maple Ridge Thomas Haney Thunder dumped the Maple Ridge Ramblers 53-47 as Malin Belfrage scored 18 points. The Ramblers (coached by Don Herman) included Karina LeBlanc, Chrissy Kogler, Ashley Newport.
The 10th-seeded Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks defeated the 15th-seeded Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons 50-34. The Blue Demons included Amy Ewert.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Richmond Hugh McRoberts Strikers edged the Mission Heritage Park Highlanders 83-82 in overtime. The Highlanders (coached by Bruce Langford) included Teresa Kleindienst, Rachael Peters, Julie Kyte, Amanda Laslo, Keturah Nathe.
In the semis, the 4th-seeded Maple Ridge Thomas Haney Thunder stunned the top-seeded Salmon Arm Jewels 72-71 in overtime. Karlene Liem took only two shots. One of them, though, was an 8-foot jumper with 1.8 seconds left in overtime to give the Thunder the win. Thunder coach Lance Milligan told the Vancouver Province that Liem was one of two options on that play. Her only other shot came in the fourth quarter, when she nailed a three-pointer, upping her mark from beyond the arc to 8-of-10 on the tournament. “She shoots sweet,” said Milligan. “And she’s definitely on a roll.” The Thunder hit 20-26 from the line, while the Jewels were 10-13. Erin Gibbons paced the Jewels with 23. Amy Jonker added 14 and Lindsay Burke 14. Jewels coach Terry Michell told the Salmon Arm Observor that his troops struggled to contain 6-1 Swedish exchange student Malin Belfrage.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Richmond Hugh McRoberts defeated the 10th-seeded Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks 69-35.
In the bronze medal match, the Salmon Arm Jewels defeated the Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks 64-42 as Amy Jonker scored 20, Marlese Redding 15 and Erin Gibbons 12. Jewels coach Terry Michell told the Salmon Arm Observor that “we can’t complain.” The Hawks (coached by Rudy Teichrob, assisted by Pat Lee) included Jody Currie, Lesley Sharp, Leanne Kiley, Jamie Mullaney, Erin Lee, Courtney Inman.
In the final, the 4th-seeded Maple Ridge Thomas Haney Thunder repeated as provincial champs by defeating the 3rd-seeded Richmond Hugh McRoberts Strikers 57-55. “I think we showed some mental toughness tonight,” Thunder coach Winfred Liem told the Vancouver Sun. “To come back tonight and win it all after what we did on Friday, well, that does show that the players’ minds were focused. It was probably the most pleasing aspect of the tournament for me.” Tournament MVP Jennifer Van De Walle, a grade 12 forward, paced the Thunder with 19. “Mr. Liem did a very good job preparing us for the final,” she said. “He brought us down from that emotional high very quickly, stressing that we had another game to go. All celebrations were put on hold.” Swedish 6-1 forward Malin Belfrage added 16 for the Thunder, while 5-5 point guard Rochelle Liem, the coach’s daughter, hit 4-4 from the arc in the third quarter as the Thunder took command. Liem finished with 13. Younger sister Karlene Liem scored 7. “Rochelle kept us in the game,” said Van De Walle. “We were having some trouble running our offence down low and she came up with some key three-pointers. It was definitely the difference.” Guard Carrie Rogers led the Strikers with 21. Charmene Adams added 14. Malin Belfrage scored 16 for Haney. Rochelle Liem added 13. Strikers’ coach Trish Nicholson, whose team only hit one three-pointer, noted that “hit the three, hit the three – I’m going to call this the goddamn three-point game. When they’re hitting’ from the inside and you make them go outside, and then they’re hitting from the outside, you’re into a match-up game. We didn’t match up from outside.” Rochelle Liem told the Province that “last year was just so exciting because no one knew us. This year we had more pressure because people knew us. It just feels so good to prove that it wasn’t a fluke. I don’t know if I’ve ever shot the ball that well. I was just praying that they would go in.” Liem sank one from beyond the arc with 6:29 to go in the third to give her team a 33-32 margin. McRoberts got the lead back at 36-35 soon after that, but Liem promptly sank another from long distance to reclaim the margin for Thomas Haney. The Strikers answered with two straight buckets, but Liem then drained another three with 1:18 left to give her squad a 41-40 lead. McRoberts rallied with a pair of treys and Liem shot back with yet one more trey, this time at the buzzer to knot the score at 44-44. The teams traded buckets for much of the fourth, before Thomas Haney finally put it away with a couple of scores from forward Malin Belfrage. “I felt like we had it, especially about halfway through that third quarter,” Nicholson told the Province. “But that girl kept hitting the three-pointers. We changed defences on them five times, but we just couldn’t stop her from hitting them. I feel bad for the seniors. I really think they wanted it more than the other team and that caused them to force it a little at the end. But I can never fault them for that. We may not have been the most talented team, but we were athletic and had a lot of heart. We realized if we were going to win, we couldn’t sell out and have any regrets. For me the most satisfying thing was we stayed with them, fought back, and put in some really tough hoops.”
The bronze medalist Salmon Arm Jewels: Amy Jonker; Marlese Redding; Lindsey Burke; Ali McTavish; Erin Gibbons; Marilyn Brockman; Niki Strutynski; Leanne Jackson; Carolyn Cartwright; Yeiko Mayes; Bree Archibald; Ali McTavish; Tennille Brown; Allison Browner; Ronni Johnson; Jaime Latham; Lisa Martin; Erin Reed; Janeen Teare; coach Terry Michell
The silver medalist Richmond Hugh McRoberts Strikers: Charmene Adams; Tanya Neufeld; Carrie Rogers; coach Trish Nicholson
The gold medalist Maple Ridge Thomas Haney Thunder: Jennifer Van De Walle; Malin Belfrage; Rochelle Liem; Karlene Liem; Sara Belfrage; Shareane Heuring; Lisa Spindor; Karena Jorgenson; Kelly Krawchuk; coach Lance Milligan; coach Winfred Liem