In the semis, the Hartland Huskies dumped the Petitcodiac Panthers 67-54 as Bev Kennedy scored 18. Gillyon Delano led the Panthers with 16.
In the other semi, the Harvey Lakers clubbed the Canterbury Trojans 104-67 as Jennifer Little scored 32, Michelle McDade 21, Kristi Budaker 20 and Lindsay McLean 13. Meri-Jo Hathaway led the Trojans with 28. Crystal Crandlemere added 16 and Stephanie Dow 14.
In the final, the Hartland Huskies defeated the Harvey Lakers 65-57. The Huskies appeared in total command as they built a 60-40 lead with nine minutes to play. But Amanda Shaw fouled out and the Lakers roared back behind the efforts of Krista Budaker, with a 17-1 run to draw within four before Hartland pulled out the win as Bev Kennedy notched a critical steal with 1:02 to play and a big defensive board with 26 seconds to play. “Once Amanda was out, I knew I had to step up a little more. I just wanted to finish it out.” Kennedy told the New Brunswick Telegraph Journal. “We wanted it really bad, we were the underdogs and we wanted to prove something.” The final was the sixth meeting between the clubs and Harvey held a narrow 3-2 edge, including a one-sided 27-point triumph early in the campaign. That blowout provided ample motivation for Hartland and high levels of confidence for Harvey in their late come-back bid. Hartland coach Lawrence Kennedy said “the key to her (Kennedy’s) play is the other kids. She’ll rebound, she’ll pick up the garbage and she’ll make things happen and if they are moving, she’ll create for them but when they are standing still, Harvey is too smart. They will double and triple team her every time. Harvey coach John Kirk said his troops too big of a hole. “It’s a credit to Hartland’s defence and that half court press of theirs. It worked for them in the first and they built up that lead. We were just never really able to get into synch offensively. It came down to going out there and scrambling and trying to get it done. We came close.” Harvey scored six of the game’s first eight points but Hartland put together runs of 11-2, 10-2 and 11-3 for a 43-24 advantage at the half. “They don’t handle the press well,” said Shaw. “Once we get them turned once, it’s usually all over. We have a tough, tough defence and that’s our basic motto. If we play tough defence, no one will beat us.” Budaker scored 8, Heather Grass 5 and Shannon Wright 4 as Harvey rallied within 61-57 with 2:28 remaining. But Kennedy hit a free throw at 17:55, Shawna Killam added a bucket at 18:33 for a 63-57 edge and Kennedy finished it off with a pair of shots from the foul line at 19:34. Bev Kennedy paced the Huskies with 21 points and 15 boards. Shaw finished with 14 points and 7 boards. Meghan Craig added 13 points and 13 boards. Hartland finished (26-6) on the season. Krista Budaker led the Lakers with 18. Michelle McDade notched 11 points and 14 boards. Lindsay MacLean added 9 and Jennifer Little 8, Heather Grass 7 and Shannon Wright 4.
The co-bronze medalist Petitcodiac Panthers: Gillyon Delano;
The co-bronze medalist Canterbury Trojans: Meri-Jo Hathaway; Crystal Crandlemere; Stephanie Dow;
The silver medalist Harvey Lakers: Krista Budaker; Michelle McDade; Lindsay MacLean; Jennifer Little; Heather Grass; Shannon Wright; coach John Kirk
The gold medalist Hartland Huskies: Beverly Kennedy; Amanda Shaw; Meghan Craig; Shawna Killam; Sally Palmer; Traci Orser; Jill Dowie; Andrea Horsman; Amy McIntosh; Meghan Craig; coach Lawrence Kennedy; assistant Lynette Shaw; manager Quinn MacLean