In the interzone playoff, the Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings clubbed the Steinbach Sabres 70-55. The Plainsmen broke to a 23-5 lead and romped. “We jumped on them which was important,” Vikings coach Stew Farnell told the Brandon Sun. “We had a three-hour bus ride and then got off and played a game within a half hour but it didn’t seem to bother us.” Ann Smith led the Vikings with 21. Shawna Cook added 14 and Glenda Clark 13. Kim Funk and Jen Smith each scored 18 for the Sabres, while 6-2 post Julie Letkeman was contained to 7. Farnell said Cook did a good job of containing Letkeman. “That was a key for us because she Letkemen scored a lot of points against us the last time we played and Shawna did well to shut her down.” The Sabres (coached by Don Cooper) also included Sharon Klassen, Christa Melnyk, Vicki Loewen, Lynsae Wohlgemuth, Shannon Schroder.
In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons clipped the 11th-seeded Winnipeg Springfield Sabres 75-37. The Sabres included Andrea White. …………………………………………………… The 12th-seeded Winnipeg Sisler Spartans dispatched the 5th-seeded Selkirk Lord Selkirk Royals 83-78 in overtime. “It was a dog fight all evening long,” Royals coach Peter Gerbrandt told the Selkirk Journal. “They have a lot better team than their ranking indicates. They really picked it up towards the end of the season.” The Royals squandered a six-point lead with 1.5 minutes to play after Janet Frawlek fouled out. Frawlek had scored a season-high 40. “After Janet was ejected, our offense was almost nonexistent,” Gerbrandt said. Erin Brand and Jennifer Peterson also fouled out. Cara McCandless added 14 for the Royals and Jennifer Peterson 10. The Royals (coached by Peter Gerbrandt) also included Jodi Peterson, Kristen Shewchuk, Kim Mikoluff. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans nipped the 10th-seeded Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders 36-33. The Raiders included Tricia Proctor, Nancy Neusteler. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers edged the 9th-seeded wild card Steinbach Sabres 71-67. The Sabres (coached by Don Cooper) included Julie Letkeman, Kim Funk, Jen Smith, Sharon Klassen.
In the quarterfinals, the Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings defeated the Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans 76-34. The Vikings led 48-17 at the half. Point guard Ann Smith led the Vikings with 14. Heather Gibson added 11, nabbed 8 boards and pilfered 5 balls. Glenda Clark scored 11 and 6-1 centre Shawna Cook 8, along with 5 boards and 2 blocks. Robin Bampton and Melissa Davidson each scored 8 for the Trojans, while Tannis Wiebe nabbed 12 boards. The Vikings full court pressure rattled the Trojans. “Brandon Massey traditionally plays the best man-to-man in the province and they certainly did today,” Trojans coach Doug MacGregor told the Brandon Sun. “They play in your face and they force you into mistakes.” Vikings coach Stew Farnell said “I was glad we won, but I would like to have won a little more stylishly. I think when we got up by 30, we just started going through the motions. We started to make sloppy mistakes and those will be costly against a better team, like the one we’ll face next.” The Trojans included Sandra Morrisey, Melissa Davidson, Robin Bampton.
The top-seeded Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions dusted the 8th-seeded Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers (the Winnipeg Free Press on alternate days reported that the St. John’s Tigers and St. James Jimmies were the quarterfinal losers. They most consistently placed the Tigers in the draw) 96-35. The Tigers included Sandy Cassano.
The 3rd-seeded Winnipeg Dakota Lancers whipped the 6th-seeded Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons 95-65.
In the last quarterfinal, the 4th-seeded Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers dispatched the 12th-seeded Winnipeg Sisler Spartans 66-49.
In the semis, the 3rd-seeded Dakota Lancers stunned the 2nd-seeded Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings 72-42. The turning point in the game occurred as the first quarter came to a close. Lancers forward Amanda Edmonds was fouled attempting a desperation three-point field goal at the buzzer. She proceeded to sink all three free throws giving the Lancers an 11-8 lead, which they would never relinquish. “Something like that can lead to such huge momentum in a game,”
Lancers coach Peter Falk told the Winnipeg Free Press. “You end a real negative quarter with a positive note and your players come back to the bench and they’re happy and want to get going again. … We didn’t make any real adjustments, Brandon just wasn’t on tonight.” The Lancers traps complete unraveled the Vikings. Janet Anderson paced the Lancers with 25 points and 9 boards. Amanda Edmonds added 17, including 7-7 from the line. “I don’t know what happened to us,” said Farnell. “We tried everything. I tried subbing people, I tried putting different combinations on the floor. The people that got us here were just not in the game. I am disappointed but probably not as disappointed as the girls are. … We just, for whatever reason, were not in the game.” Vikings’ seniors Ann Smith and forward Heather Gibson struggled. Smith scored 4 on 0-7 from the arc. “The people that we needed, that got us here just were not in the game,” said Farnell. ”Let’s face it. They kicked our butt.” Dakota led 27-23 at the half. But Vincent Massey managed just three points in the third quarter as Dakota rolled to a 48-26 lead. “Like our coach said, they folded up their tents and went back to Brandon,” said Anderson. Glenda Clark paced the Vikings with 11. Shawna Cook added 7, along with 8 boards. “Everyone’s upset,” said Clark. “Nothing went right for us today. … Our goal was to make it to the final. We thought we could beat them and it just didn’t work out that way.”
In the other semi, the top-seeded Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions edged the 4th-seeded Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers 56-50 as Andrea Pales scored 22.
In the final, held in Thompson, the top-seeded Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions defeated the 3rd-seeded Winnipeg Dakota Lancers 59-40. The Lions were the core of a Glenlawn squad that won the provincial volleyball title a few months earlier. Both titles “feel good,” 5-6 guard Lise Anne Gaudreau told the Winnipeg Free Press. “This one feels even better now that we’ve won both.” After allowing Dakota, which had won the two previous provincial titles, to score the game’s first three points, the Lions went on a 12-2 run to take command. “It wasn’t a 19-point win,” said coach Brian Kornberger. “It was a much closer game than that and I congratulate Dakota on a fine season.” The Lions dominated the boards. “They’re an extremely talented team and they worked us hard on the boards,” said Dakota forward Sara Butcher. Andrea Pales led the way with 18 defensive rebounds while 6-2, Grade 11 forward Cheryl Little grabbed eight offensive boards. Little also scored 16 and blocked 7 shots. “Cheryl Little is going to have a great career at Glenlawn before she is finished,” Kornberger said. “For her to have a big game in the big game is a thrill for me and for all of her teammates.” Pales, a transfer from Dakota, scored 16. “Andrea has accomplished a lot in high school basketball,” Kornberger said. “She’s had a fantastic season and is going to have a fine future in whatever she does.” The Lions held Butcher to 6 points. “We double-team people we have tremendous respect for,” Kornberger said. “Butcher is an outstanding player and we had to try to do our best against her.” Gaudreau also scored 16 for the Lions. Janet Anderson led the Lancers with 11.
The co-bronze medalist Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings: Ann Smith; Heather Gibson; Glenda Clark; Shawna Cook; Jill Wiwcharuk; Janice Zazulak; Sherrie Hedley; Tracy Maher; Tricia Sanders; Leona Gara; coach Stew Farnell; coach Mike Hill
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers: Sandy Corby; Josee Edwards; Tiffany McVickers;
The silver medalist Winnipeg Dakota Lancers: Sara Butcher; Amanda Edmonds; Janet Anderson; Kyla Koskie; Gillian Crymble; coach Peter Falk
The gold medalist Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions: Lise Anne Gaudreau; Andrea Pales; Cheryl Little; Arlene Prystenski; Andrea O’Connor; Lori Pisclevich; Jennifer Gordon; Shannon Cameron; coach Bryan Kornberger