In the opening round, held in Barrie: …………………………………………………… The Scarborough Cardinal Newman Knights defeated the Collingwood Collegiate Fighting Owls 35-25 as Monica Wensing scored 10. Trish Stevenson led Collingwood with 9. …………………………………………………… The Orillia District Blues dumped the Timmins E.C.S. Theriault Flammes 55-40. …………………………………………………… The Etobicoke Kipling Wildcats defeated the Barrie Eastview Wildcats 44-29 as Sharon McFarlane scored 16, Theresa Kay 12 and Joy Bellinger 10. Kim Holden led Eastview with 11. Kipling led 12-4 after one quarter and 24-8 at the half. …………………………………………………… The Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated Thunder Bay Westgate 63-34. …………………………………………………… The Hamilton Bishop Ryan Celtics clipped the Tilsonburg Glendale Griffins 59-35. Celtics star Theresa Grant missed most of the contest with a sprained ankle. …………………………………………………… The Mississauga Erindale Raiders defeated the West Toronto Secondary Warriors 43-33 as Stacy Wilson scored 13 and Linda Wirkowski 9, Georgia Gallimore led West Toronto with 8. Debbie Grannum added 9. “I don’t know what happened,” Grannum told the Globe & Mail. “We just weren’t moving. I had no one to pass to.” …………………………………………………… The Guelph John F. Ross Royals defeated the Belleville Moira Trojans 61-51. …………………………………………………… The Sudbury North Stars dumped the Kingston La Salle Black Knights 57-46. …………………………………………………… Flesherton Grey Highlands defeated the Ottawa Sir Robert Borden Bengals 70-61.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The Orillia District Blues clipped the Collingwood Fighting Owls 50-36. …………………………………………………… The Scarborough Cardinal Newman Knights defeated the Timmins E.C.S. Theriault Flammes 42-39.
In the third round: …………………………………………………… The Scarborough Cardinal Newman Knights defeated the Guelph John F. Ross Royals 36-35 despite having had starters Perla Castelluccio, Brenda Murphy and Monika Wensing foul out in the final quarter. Off the bench came 15-year-old Carmen Hartung, who was fouled with eight seconds to play and hit both free throws to pull out the win. The Royals (coach Marie Denham) included Alice France, Janice Jockel, Barb Goddard, Tracey MacLean, Anne Devovski, Helen Haalboom. …………………………………………………… The Etobicoke Kipling Wildcats defeated the Kingston LaSalle Black Knights 61-29 as Chris Kay scored 20. Peggy Reid led the Black Knights with 6. The Black Knights also included Marylou Wright. …………………………………………………… The Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Ottawa Sir Robert Borden Bengals 66-39. …………………………………………………… The Tillsonburg Glendale Griffins defeated the Mississauga Erindale Raiders 32-20. …………………………………………………… The Hamilton Bishop Ryan Celtics dumped the West Toronto Secondary Warriors 99-55 as Debbie Knowles scored 48. Celtics coach Joe DiTripani told the Hamilton Spectator that “I am surprised by Debbie so far. She’s really put it together. I’ve seen her do this before though. When she plays with Theresa (Grant), Theresa tends to dominate. She kind of took it on herself (to do that) … Grant is at 50 percent capacity. She’s concentrating on her defence and helping out offensively when she can.” …………………………………………………… The Belleville Moira Trojans defeated the Orillia District Blues 51-31. …………………………………………………… The Sudbury North Stars dumped the Barrie Eastview Wildcats 54-50. …………………………………………………… Flesherton Grey Highlands defeated Thunder Bay Westgate 51-35.
In the quarterfinals, the Tillsonburg Glendale Griffins defeated the Scarborough Cardinal Newman Knights 41-39 as Heather Demeyere hit a 20-foot jumper at the buzzer. Cardinal Newman had fought back from a 36-29 deficit in the fourth quarter to knot the score at 39 with 30 seconds to play, setting the stage for Demeyere’s winning prayer. It hit the front rim and bounced in. “It was a lucky shot,” Demeyere told the Globe & Mail. “I didn’t think it was going to go in. All the players were yelling ‘shoot, shoot’, so I just zinged it. It was a total judgement call but I think the ball was released just before the buzzer – I think.” Newman coach Emile Timmermans disagreed. “It, in my opinion, was still in her hands at the buzzer. It also hit one of my girl’s hands and if the buzzer had gone that also makes it a dead ball. But I’m not going to squawk. This only our third year in existence and we’ve been to OFSAA twice. We’ve won five OFSAA games which is more than all the other Toronto teams have won the tournament’s four-year history.” Glendale coach William Orr missed the game after being rushed to hospital from his hotel room earlier that morning complaining of chest pains. Assistant Dace Zvanitajs, summoned from Tillsonburg, arrived just before the game to assume the helm. Demeyere finished with 10 points. Nancy Burton added 11. Susan Schlumberger led Newman with 12.
The Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Etobicoke Kipling Wildcats 61-46. The Wildcats included Joy Bellinger, Theresa Kay, Chris Kitchen, Sharon MacFarlane, Michelle Hopkins.
The Hamilton Bishop Ryan Celtics defeated the Belleville Moira Trojans 64-43 as Debbie Knowles scored 31. Paula Lockyear led Moira with 36.
In the last quarterfinal, the Sudbury North Stars clipped Flesherton Grey Highlands 45-27.
In the semis, the Hamilton Bishop Ryan Celtics dumped the Sudbury North Stars 62-41 as Linda Palango scored 15 and Debbie Knowles 14. Carol Hamilton led Sudbury with 17.
In the other semi, the Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish clipped the Tillsonburg Glendale Griffins 44-34 as Nancy Helstab scored 14 and Judy Helstab 11. Sandy Demaree led the Griffins with 12.
In the final, a virtual duplicate of the previous year’s championship, the Hamilton Bishop Ryan Celtics defeated the Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish 77-51. The Celtics expressed relief. “I’m glad it’s over,” said Linda Palango. “We’ve got a bit of a winning streak going and if we lost it would be considered a big upset. Winning last year was easier, not as much pressure. The pressure started building at the beginning of this season and never let up. But it’s all off now.” The win was Bishop Ryan’s 59th in a row. Coach Joe DiTripani said his nightmares were finally over. “When you’re the underdog, you’re very ecstatic if you win. But if you’re the favorites and you win, it’s a relief that it’s over. We had everything to lose and not very much to gain.” Bishop Ryan took a 25-15 lead after a quarter as Joanne Drake scored 8 and Linda Palango 7. The Celtics led 39-29 at the half and pulled away in the third quarter, leading 57-38 heading into the final frame. Palango finished with 21. Joanne Drake added 16 and Debbie Knowles 14. Judy Helstab led Notre Dame with 17, while sister Nancy Helstab tossed in 16. Di Tripani told the Barrie Examiner that his troops “played well again. It’s a big relief to have it over with. It was a little tougher this time. It’s always tougher the 2nd time in a row.” Notre Dame coach Karen Reinhart said “our team didn’t play as well as they are capable of playing. They were kind of flat in the semi-final and I think that carried over to the championship game. … (Bishop Ryan) have always been such a smooth, efficient team. Every time you think you’ve got them figured out, they suddenly change to a system that baffles you for a while longer. We were doing alright for a good part of the game but when we fell behind by more than 10 points, I think the players became discouraged. Bishop Ryan has ways to discourage a team.”
The silver medalist Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Judy Helstab; Nancy Helstab; Marie MacDonald; coach Karen Reinhart
The champion Hamilton Bishop Ryan Celtics: Linda Mataseje; Eva Byzclew; Debbie Knowles; Linda Palango; Yolanda Lenart; Winnie Quinn; Joanne Drake; Marie Grant; Teresa Grant, coach Joe DiTrapani