In the opening round, held in St. Catharines: …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Nepean Bell Bruins defeated the unseeded Kingston CVI Blues 59-35 as Lesley Bunness scored 21, Nana Robinson 17 and Martha Sandilands 11. The Bruines led 10-4, 34-16 and 44-30 at the quarters. Wendy Carmichael paced the Blues with 10. Keva Glynn added 9. Blues assistant Hans Garsch told the Kingston Whig-Standard that “we played well defensively (in the first quarter) but we couldn’t buy a basket. … We pressed for three quarters and manage to turn the ball over but we couldn’t put it in.” …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Windsor John L. Forster Spartans defeated the unseeded Niagara Falls Stamford Hornets 48-43 as reserves Annie Marcarian provided a big lift off the bench, and two critical rebounds, despite being on 5-2. “You’ve got to be a little lucky to get rebounds when you’re my size,” she noted. Forster led 18-10 after one quarter but then began begin plagued by fouls, getting hit for 12 while the Hornets had none. When Sheri Turnbull fouled out the fourth quarter, it appeared Stamford had the upper hand but the Spartans tightened their defence and forced several critical turnovers, taking the lead for good when Tonya St. Germaine hit two of her nine fourth-quarter points on a 20-foot jumper. “Windsor just didn’t make the critical errors we did when it counted the most,” said Hornets coach Al Wilcox. “They could’ve folded in the last quarter when they lost Turnbull. Instead, their reserves came in and did a fine job. They just wore us down in the last few minutes. They stayed within their abilities and made the clutch plays.” St. Germain added 17 for Forster, while Ronie-Ann Baechler scored 9. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Sarnia St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish defeated the unseeded Mississauga Clarkson Chargers 76-31. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Hamilton Sherwood Saints blasted the Peterborough Adam Scott CVI Lions 71-31. …………………………………………………… The Toronto Weston Ironmaidens nipped the 7th-seeded Brantford North Park Trojans 41-40. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded St. Catharines Collegiate Saints clocked the Oshawa Paul Dwyer Saints 67-32. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Scarborough Albert Campbell Celtics crushed the Toronto Oakwood Barons 87-26. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Sudbury Lasalle Lancers edged the Etobicoke Monsignor Johnson Jaguars 67-66.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Nepean Bell Bruins dumped the unseeded Etobicoke Monsignor Johnson Jaguars 60-52 as Nana Robinson scored 24 and Martha Sandilands 17. Jennifer Farrace pumped in 22 points and Monica Patterson added 11 for the Jaguars. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Windsor John L. Forster Spartans defeated the Mississauga Clarkson Chargers 67-54. The Spartans dug themselves an early 33-18 hole but rallied behind Sheri Turnbull, who scored 25, and Roni-Anne Baechler, who added 19. The Chargers tired as Forster rallied to within seven at the half and then took a 48-47 lead on a Baechler bucket. Tonya St. Germain and Melinda Pierce each added 12 for Forster. Lisa Fehr led the Chargers with 21. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Sudbury LaSalle Lancers dispatched the Kingston CVI Blues 47-40 as Betsy Willgas scored 14. Keva Glynn led the Blues with 22, along with 15 boards. Blues coach Ken Smith told the Kingston Whig-Standard that “we played them even in the second half but we couldn’t score from the line. We were 0-for-7 while LaSalle was 7-for-11. That and the fact that we could killed by outside shooting was the difference.” The Blues (coached by Ken Smith, assistant Hans Garsch) also included Wendy Carmichael, Kathy Henderson, Catherine Fitzsimon, Erin Murphy, Little, Mayson, Reid and Sugarman.g …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Sarnia St. Patrick’s defeated the Niagara Falls Stamford Hornets 65-37 as Claudine Sandrin scored 18. Jill Stiefelmeyer led the Hornets with 16. ………………………………………………… The Hamilton Sherwood Saints dusted the Brantford North Park Trojans 56-37 as Kathy Harrison scored 19. Heather Wheaton led the Trojans with 12. The Trojans (coached by Teresa Fullerton and Julie Baker) also included Angela Kelly, Sarah Bradley, Michelle Szikora, Kris Rodway, Leslie Buckley, Kerry Bowden, Heather Ironside, Michelle Kukta and Cheryl Atkinson. ………………………………………………… The Scarborough Albert Campbell Celtics blasted the Oshawa Dwyer Saints 61-29 as Elaine Blake scored 23. Rosa Baccaellieri led the Saints with 14. ………………………………………………… The Toronto Weston Ironmaidens whipped the Peterborough Adam Scott CVI Lions 70-23 as Denise Scott scored 37. Ainsley Geddes paced the Lions with 16. ………………………………………………… The St. Catharines Collegiate Saints smacked the Toronto Oakwood Barons 57-11 as Tammy Naughton scored 18. Pamela McLaughlin led the Barons with 3.
In the quarterfinals, the 3rd-seeded Nepean Bell Bruins defeated the 6th-seeded Windsor John L. Forster Spartans 61-53 as Nana Robinson scored 20, Lesley Bunness 14 and Martha Sandilands 14. Sherri Turnbull paced Forster with 15. Roni-Anne Baechler added 14 and Tonya St. Germain 12. “You couldn’t do any moves on them underneath the basket. You just had to push them out of the way,” Turnbull told the Windsor Star. “You can’t go over them. You have to go underneath them. The only other way in is to cut them off at the knees.” Forced to a perimeter game, the Spartans struggled. “You can’t just depend on shot from the outside,” said Baechler. “We maybe should’ve tried to draw them out a little more. They were packing in on Sheri underneath. If we could’ve just got some room inside, it would have helped a lot. Instead, when we tried to get inside to Sheri or to shoot from closer in, they just snuffed some of our shots.” The Bruins, by contrast, dominated the offensive boards and got a lot of second chance buckets. “We tried to put them away and we just couldn’t,” said Bell coach Jeff Wilson. “They are a pesky bunch that just refuses to quit. Even though we contained them inside, they kept hitting those bombs from long range.” Bell led by only four with two remaining but maintained their poise to pull out the win. The Spartans (coached by Tom Halliwill) also included Melinda Pierce.
The 5th-seeded Scarborough Albert Campbell Celtics defeated the Hamilton Sherwood Saints 50-44 as Elaine Blake scored 8 of her 14 points in the final minutes. “It was too close and we almost threw it away with silly mistakes and fouls. We just wanted to win so badly,” Blake told the Toronto Star. “What helped was when the coach gave me hell at the half. It calmed me down. I programmed myself to do what he said, play my game. Thank goodness we won.” Kathy Harrison led Sherwood with 14.
The top-seeded Sarnia St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish defeated the Sudbury Lasalle Lancers 49-43 as Lisa Lisella scored 14. Sue Foy led the Lancers with 17.
In the last quarterfinal, the St. Catharines CI Saints dispatched the Toronto Weston Ironmaidens 56-46 as Tammy Naughton scored 25. Denise Scott paced Weston with 31.
In the semis, the host and 2nd-seeded St. Catharines CI Saints handed the 3rd-seeded Nepean Bell Bruins their first loss of the season by a 39-38 count. Bell coach Jeff Wilson told the Ottawa Citizen said foul trouble for Lesley Bunness proved the difference. “St. Catharines had the advantage of the crowd and hometown referees and losing Lesley really hurt us.” Nana Robinson, who averaged 20 points in the five OFSAA games, pumped in 25 against the Saints while Buness scored just 5. The Saints were led by Tammy Naughton with 16 and Georgie Groat with 12.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Sarnia St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish dispatched the Scarborough Albert Campbell Celtics 38-30 as Lisa Lisella and Mary Con Rosario each scored 8. Elaine Blake led the Celtics with 12.
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded Scarborough Albert Campbell Celtics defeated the 3rd-seeded Nepean Bell Bruins 53-45 as Grace Blake scored 20 and Elaine Blake 12. “There was a bit of a letdown after the loss to St. Catharines,” Bell coach Jeff Wilson told the Ottawa Citizen. “We didn’t come back.” The score was tied 27-27 at half time and the Celtics came on strong in the second half, limiting Bell to 18 points, most of which were scored in the third quarter. Lesley Buness led the Bruins with 18. Nana Robinson added 13.
In the final, the top-seeded Sarnia St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish defeated the 2nd-seeded St. Catharines CI Saints 46-45 to capture their third title in six years. Saints guard Jennifer Cushing had an opportunity to tie the game with one second to play. She missed her first free throw and then hit the second. “I was trying too hard and was very nervous,” Jennifer Cushing told the Toronto Star. “The shot (two-pointer) is a tough one to do. I was also upset that I missed the one that really counted and it hurt.” Saints coach Walt Szpilewski, who had called timeout between the free throws, said “I told her to miss and, hopefully, give one of our forwards a shot at going for the tying points. Something went wrong. Maybe the noise was a factor, but I do know she was upset after missing the first shot.” Saints coach Bob Delaney said “we really made it difficult for ourselves, missing six free throws in the final minute but they also played us well and took our key shooters out of the game. I also know that I wouldn’t want to be out there on the court in a pressure situation like this game. That’s when the basket gets smaller as the clock runs down.” The game was time at 18 after one quarter and at 30 at the half. Mary Con Rosario led the Fighting Irish with 14. Maureen Spero added 10 and Heather Spero 10. Tammy Naughton led the Saints with 16. Cushing added 13. The Saints finished (39-1) on the seasons.
The bronze medalist Scarborough Albert Campbell Celtics: Grace Blake; Elaine Blake; coach Jeff Wilson;
The silver medalist St. Catharines CI Saints: Jennifer Cushing; Tammy Naughton; Georgie Groat;
The gold medalist Sarnia St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish: Mary Con Rosario; Claudine Sandrine; Lisa Lisella; coach Bob Delaney