Dauphin??????: Gigi Dubuque, Tammy McCallum, Dori Fee, Natalie Strilchuk, Carol Tkach, Terri Fordham, Dolly McLeod, Darlene Demchuk, coach Larry McDougall
In the quarterfinals, held in Neepawa for rural and private schools with enrolments over 200, the host and top-seeded Garden Valley Zodiacs clubbed the host Neepawa Tigers 92-41. The Tigers were coached by Lorne Lagimodiere.
The 5th-seeded Portage la Prairie Arthur Meighen Saints nipped the 4th-seeded Stonewall Rams 47-43. The Rams (coached by Randy Lasiuk) included Faralee Shipley, Shauna Billingham, Dionne Preston.
The 2nd-seeded Steinbach Sabres dumped the 7th-seeded Swan River Swan Valley Tigers 60-44. Hong Trinh repeatedly pilfered the ball to set up Sabre teammates for run-out layups. The Tigers (coached by Henry Barkowski, assisted by K Chad) included Dayna Gordon, June Mosiodz, Michelle Stewart, Kristi Kublick, Anhelia Medelinka, Shanley Henderson, Lee-Anne Kichuk, Kim Barkowski, Joy Kennedy, Dayna Gordon and Dayna Sloboda.
In the last quarterfinal, the 6th-seeded The Pas Margaret Barbour Spartans edged the 3rd-seeded Sprague Ross L. Gray Raiders 47-40. The Raiders (coached by John Bukich) included Tina Schoebach, Michelle Jernberg, Melissa Hovorka, Bonnie Zimmerman, Mary-Jo Havorka, Barbie Plovie, Vanessa Bachman, Deanna Chenier.
In the semis, the top-seeded Winkler Garden Valley Zodiacs dusted the 5th-seeded Portage la Prairie Arthur Meighen Saints 62-37 as Vicki Neufeld scored 43.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Steinbach Sabres clipped the 6th-seeded The Pas Margaret Barbour Spartans 71-54. Hong Trinh dominated the game but repeatedly using her quickness to pilfer the ball.
In the bronze medal match, the 6th-seeded The Pas Margaret Barbour Spartans nipped the 5th-seeded Portage La Prairie Arthur Meighen Saints 57-54.
In the final, the top-seeded Winkler Garden Valley Zodiacs defeated the 2nd-seeded Steinbach Regional Sabres 56-49. “This is a bunch of girls that have a lot of character and a tremendous attitude,” said Zodiacs coach David Boyes. “From the outset they jelled together, there weren’t any cliques on the team.” The Zodiacs had made the semis a year earlier and “there was a quiet optimism among the players returning this year. I know the girls felt bad about losing in the semi-final last year. We did lose six players from last year so in a sense we did have to rebuild. Our Christianity has also been important to the team. It was the girls who came up with the thought to have a word of prayer before and after each game and that’s what we’ve done all year.” Vicki Neufeld paced the Zodiacs with 22. Anna Siemens added 13 and Shauna Dueck 11. “Our plan was to break Steinbach’s press, we spent a lot of time practicing that,” said Boyes. “We just kept putting pressure on the ball and clogged up the middle, that’s where their attack was coming from.” Renelda Friesen led the Sabres with 18. Julie Letkeman added 17. Boyes said Neufeld deserved the MVP award. “Vicki is such a strong person and super individual. Watching her play you could see she has a little more drive and will to win than most players.” Winkler led by four at the break and opened the second half with a 5-0 run. They extended their margin to 14 early in the final quarter and coasted to the win.
The bronze medalist The Pas Margaret Barbour Spartans: Jodi Rock;
The silver medalist Steinbach Sabres: Renelda Friesen; Julie Letkeman; Nicole Labelle; Vicki Loewen; Hong Trinh; Trinh Thi; Lisa Penner; Sharon Klassen; Heather Loeppky; Kim Funk; coach Don Cooper; assistant Art Vesterdal
The gold medalist Winkler Garden Valley Zodiacs: Vicki Neufeld; Anna Siemens; Shauna Dueck; Jen Froese; Tania Zacharias; Sara Zacharias; Dorinne Derksen; Ang Heide; Lori Friesen; Patti Kuhl; Chris Ens; Kerry Hargraves; coach Dave Boyes