In the interzone finals, the Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans stomped the Swan River Swan Valley Tigers 69-51 as Kirsten Davies scored 25 and Jen Lopes 18.
In the wild card game, the Portage Pats edged the Swan River Swan Valley Tigers 65-53. The Tigers (coached by Ronn Vestby) included Candace Ashcroft, Christine Mateika, Janelle Knispel, Jill Hunter.
In the quarterfinals, held in Winnipeg, the top-seeded Thompson R.D. Parker Trojans crushed the 8th-seeded Winnipeg St. James Jimmies 68-14.
The 5th-seeded Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans edged the 4th-seeded Winnipeg St. John’s Ravenscourt Eagles 53-49 as Kirsten Davies scored 25 and Jen Lopes 20. The Spartans led 29-22 at the half. Malissa Lundgren and Jennifer Campbell each scored 10 to pace the Eagles. The Eagles also included Marnie Griffith.
The 3rd-seeded St. Norbert Celtics nipped the 6th-seeded Winkler Garden Valley Zodiacs 57-53.
In the last quarterfinal, the 7th-seeded Portage Pats stunned the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Westwood Warriors 46-40. The Warriors included Trish Paseka.
In the semis, the 5th-seeded Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans clipped the top-seeded Thompson R.D. Parker Trojans 60-52 as Kirsten Davies scored a career-high 41 and Jen Lopes 13. The Spartans led 29-19 at the half.
In the other semi, the 7th-seeded Portage Pats dumped the 3rd-seeded St. Norbert Celtics 49-34.
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded St. Norbert Celtics dispatched the top-seeded Thompson R.D. Parker Trojans 47-39. The Trojans included Paula McIvor.
In the final, the 5th-seeded Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans whipped the 7th-seeded Portage Collegiate Pats 68-45 as Kirsten Davies scored 32. Jen Lopes added 10. The Spartans led 30-17 at the half. “I’ve just got to say how proud I am of my girls,” Davies told the Brandon Sun. “Everyone came with dedication. This was a young group, including four senior students, but they worked hard on coming together to play as a team. … It feels pretty sweet. I’m on Cloud 9 right now. “It’s a nice way to go out, that’s for sure.” Co-coach Mike Hill said “everyone contributed in their own way.” Davies said “they double-teamed me for a little more than half the game. But my teammates stepped up and started to score, so they dropped off me.” Davies added that she’d been waiting four years for this championship. “To think we just about didn’t play. We only had five players so I got permission to join the boys’ team in case we didn’t play.” Janey Bradford and April Hoover each scored 14 to pace the Pats.
The bronze medalist St. Norbert Celtics:
The silver medalist Portage Pats: Janey Bradford; April Hoover;
The gold medalist Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans: Kirsten Davies; Christina Lelievre; Amy Hackenschmidt; Jenny Lopes; Lisa Eastley; Maria Evans; Susan Boyd; Megan Keep; Cora Lee Sloan; Jen Smith; April Rey; Emmy McInnes; coach Mike Hill; assistant Harry Crossin; manager Sharon Romanowski