In the opening round, held in Brantford: …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Ottawa South Carleton Redskins dumped the Windsor Vincent Massey Mustangs 62-53 as Heather O’Grady scored 38, including six from beyond the arc. South Carleton led 36-35 at the half and then buried the Mustangs with a 20-4 run. “We played well at the opening and got up by 10 points,” Massey coach Richard Basinski told the Windsor Star. “Sidney Hope played her best game of the year for us. In the third, thought, the O’Grady girl just caught fire. We didn’t handle their press like we had in the first half. We began to panic.” Tanya Natyshak led Massey with 15. Hope added 14. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders clocked the Etobicoke CI Rams 61-32 as Rene Wesolowski scored 17 and Angela Nobes 9 (also reported as 10). Rene Wesolowski told the Hamilton Specator that “we had no idea what the other team was like. … You never know, these are the top teams in Ontario, so they could have come back and won it.” Crusaders assistant Kevin Karl said “we talked about being more consistent at halftime. … Every game we play now, it gets tougher. It’s kind tought for them being ranked number one. They’re the top dogs. Everyone’s gunning for them.” Rams Coach Paul Pearson was “we hoped that we would play them a little closer. We didn’t execute as well as we wanted to.” Megan Vrancart led the Rams with 19. Maya Babic added 12. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles whipped the Sudbury Lasalle Lancers 63-44 as Janet Reid scored 24, along with 15 boards, and Jennifer Reid 21. The Green Eagles led 36-14 at the half and 57-21 after three quarters. Green Eagle Melanie Bourne told the Brantford Expositor that “you can’t take anything lightly in OFSAA. We weren’t as sharp in the second half but our defence was really strong. A great defence can win just about any game.” Lancers coach Bill Sherman said “I think we were a little intimidated in the first half. … The Reids are famous – we knew we had to stop them. But when keyed o nthem, their outside started hurting us.” Carol Duhamel led the Lancers with 9. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Markham District Marauders stomped the Mississauga St. Martin’s Mustangs 71-32 as Elise Volpe scored 19 and Lori Taylor 18. Izabella Bachmanek (Vachmanek?) paced the Mustangs with 16. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded London Oakridge Oaks dumped the Kingston Regiopolis-Notre Dame Panthers 55-36. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Brantford North Park Trojans whipped the Scarborough West Hill Warriors 63-44 (also reported as 59-19) as Liz Hart scored 23, while nabbing 11 boards. Shelley Lang added 8, Anne Herbison 6 and Melinda Quinn 4. Lisa Lloyd led the Warriors with 8. Raiders coach Bill Truscott tole the Brantford Expositor that “the intensity and team play, with everyone moving at all times, is something we haven’t seen in our league.” …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Niagara Falls A.N. Myer Marauders crushed the Peterborough Crestwood Mustangs 65-42 as Kristi Newton scored 21 and Nikki Johnson 15. Jody Lewis led the Mustangs with 20. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Toronto Michael Power-St. Joseph’s Trojans clipped the North Toronto Norsewomen 42-30 as Tanya Balley scored 12. Jill Moran led the Norsewomen with 13.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Markham District H.S. Marauders defeated the Windsor Vincent Massey Mustangs 52-32 as Elise Volpe scored 15. Markham built a 15-2 lead in the first quarter and were never threatened. “We got into a running game right from the start when we didn’t really want to,” Massey coach Richard Basinski told the Windsor Star. “They’re a good team and have a way of forcing you to play at their tempo and we couldn’t’ handle it.” Tanya Natyshak led Massey with 15. The Mustangs (coached by Richard Basinski) also included Elena Fields, Sydney Hope, Janine Ahpin, Amber Staudt, Holly Kerr. …………………………………………………… The Mississauga St. Martin’s Mustangs clipped the 8th-seeded Ottawa South Carleton Redskins 52-38 as Izabella Bachmanek scored 23. Heather O’Grady led the Redskins with 18. The Redskins (coached by Dave Webb and Linda Webb) also included Karin Brown, Jennifer Pratt, Stacey Graham, Lorelie Labelle. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders clocked the Peterborough Crestwood Mustangs 60-30 as Rena Wesolowski scored 15. The Mustangs (coached by Tracey Hanna and Bob McLaughlin) included Stacey Goulding, Cathy Poch, Janet Bernard, Anne Powell, Judy Lewis. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles stomped the Scarborough West Hill Warriors 72-43 as Jennifer Reid scored 20 and Janet Reid 18. Anita Robinson paced the Warriors with 13. The Warriors (coached by Barry Truscott) also included Charmaine Babb, Lisa Lloyd, Michelle Davis, Marsha Springer, Candace Eskins. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded London Oakridge Oaks blasted the North Toronto Norsewomen 65-32 as Jennifer Taylor scored 17. Andrea Thomson led the Norsewomen with 12. The Norse (coached by Bill Doyle) als included Megan Kilfoyle, Jill Moran, Christine Etela, Cathy Craig. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Brantford North Park Trojans dispatched the Sudbury Lasalle Lancers 50-44 as Liz Hart scored 23, Anne Herbison 8 and Jodi Gardner 8. The Trojans led 22-8 after one quarter and 31-25 at the half. Shelley Dewar led the Lancers with 15. The Lancers also included Sarah Lupton, Carole Duhamel, Kerri Fraser, Danielle Fraser. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Niagara Falls A.N. Myer Marauders clipped the Etobicoke CI Rams 47-27 as Nikki Johnson scored 14. Katie Lemon led the Rams with 8. Rams coach Paul Pearson told Canadian Press that “we stunk. We just couldn’t put the ball in the hoop.” The Rams (coached by Pearson and Hank Spencer) also included Maya Babic, Simone Banton, Michelle Marlboro, Liesa Ratz, Megan Vrancourt. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Toronto Michael Power-St. Joseph’s Trojans whipped the Kingston Regiopolis-Notre Dame Panthers 50-34 as Giselle Melo scored 16. Erin Smith led the Panthers with 15. The Panthers (coached by Sean Murphy) also included Amy Patterson, Kate Kelsey, Tina Young, Coffey, Kristen Check, Doyle, Archer, and Spencer.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders spanked the Mississauga St. Martin’s Mustangs 70-39 as Tanya Tatti scored 17. Izabella Bachmanek led the Mustangs with 26. The Mustangs (coached by Jackie Hendriks and Jaye Deganais) also included Andrea McCallum, Susy Pacheco, Shauna Congram, Charlene Bertrand, Michelle Czata.
The 4th-seeded London Oakridge Oaks edged the 5th-seeded Brantford North Park Trojans 48-42 as Christie Lauzon scored 19 and Jenn Haylor 13. Oaks coach Don Rowden told the Brantford Expositor that “our defence held us in until the offence got going in the second half. … (Liz) Hart is outstanding, we knew we had to stop her and extend the zone to her.” Haylor notched three bombs in the third quarter as Oakridge took control. Hart and Susan Lang rallied the Trojans to within three with 2:23 to play but Oakridge iced it at the line. Liz Hart led the Trojans with 17. Jodi Gardner added 6 and Anne Herbison 6. Trojans coach Gerry Vitiello said “we put in a championship effort. They hit on four or five nice shots and pulled in a lot of rebounds.” The Trojans (coached by Vitiello) also included April Taylor, Nikki Beal, Stephanie St. John, Jen Grierson, Sara Vipond, Melissa Blunt, Melinda Quinn, Kerrie Pappel, Jennifer Grierson, Melissa Zedo and Shelley Lang.
The 2nd-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles nipped the 7th-seeded Toronto Michael Power-St. Joseph’s Trojans 51-46 as Jennifer Reid scored 17, Janet Reid 13 and Carole Rodrigues 8. The Green Eagles hit seven treys, while leading 28-25 at the half and 41-32 after three quarters. Michelle Carrozella iced the win with a steal for a runout-and-one with 16 seconds to play. Green Eagles coach Bob Delaney told the Brantford Expositor that “play was what it’s all about. Some teams would have grabbed a lead and played a hope-you-miss defence but that’s not our style. … The way we played tonight is evident of what kind of program we have. These girls are able to play under any kind of pressure and they can play any type of game. They’ve seen a lot of big games and top teams. Shannon Carey led the Trojans with 10. Giselle Melo added 10 and Chrystal Thorne 4. Trojans coach Paul McGrath said “we just ran out of steam. You take away their three-pointers and we win by 10 points.” The Trojans (coached by Paul McGrath) also included Tanya Bailey, Amanda Belvedere.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Markham District Marauders dispatched the 6th-seeded Niagara Falls A.N. Myer Marauders 47-42 as Tammy Cooper scored 13. Nikki Johnson led the Marauders with 17. The Marauders (coach Sherry Finlater) also include Debra Bosco, Kristy Newton, Stephanie Fabiani, Kelly Keenan, Karin Thompson, Lynn Lang, Andrea Corfield.
In the semis, the top-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders dispatched the 4th-seeded London Oakridge Oaks 62-50 as Angela Nobes scored 21. Shawn Suderman paced the Oaks with 15.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Markham District Marauders edged the 2nd-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles 39-34 as Lori Taylor scored 12. Janet Reid led the Green Eagles with 16. Jennifer Reid added 8. Green Eagles point guard Carole Rodrigues said told the Brantford Expositor that “I think it was more nerves than anything else. Everyone was expecting us to win. It’s our home gym. It was more pressure than anything else. The first quarter, it was the jitterbugs but the second quarter just nothing was going for us. It’s disappointing. … Our whole season our offence revoled around the Reids, getting it inside to them and them putting it in but they had two tall, good defenders inside.” Green Eagles coach Bob Delaney said “we seemed to be out of sync on offence. The game plan was to have one of the Reids take the big girl high and the other go low. We never got into that. … We had our chances down the stretch. We didn’t make any free throws and we couldn’t hit the outside shot.” Markham coach George Kraus effectively used double teams and pressure defence to contain the Reids inside.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles blasted the 4th-seeded London Oakridge Oaks 65-43 as Jennifer Reid scored 21, along with 13 boards, and Janet Reid 15, along with 9 boards. Reid told the Brantford Expositor “we all have three now (having won gold in 1990 and silver in 1991). There was not stopping us. We were pumped from the beginning of the game. It’s disappointing that we didn’t get gold but three medals in three years is pretty good. Carole Rodrigue hit a trio from beyond the arc ans the Green Eagles took a 33-22 lead at the break. Green Eagles coach Bob Delaney said “they were relaxed, there was not pressure and they played within themselves. We played everyone and they walked away satisfied.” Leona Fernandez said “speaking for all of us who came off the bench, this was an important game. We all wanted to help and I think we played excellent.” Janet Reid said “we weren’t mentally ready in the (semis) but we were all together again (in the bronze) and we got a chance to win with everyone.” Shawn Suderman paced the Oaks with 10. The Oaks (coached by Don Rowdon) also included Christie Lauzon, Jennifer Haylor, Jackie Field, Shera Nixon, Amy Pinnegar.
In the final, the top-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders defeated 3rd-seeded Markham District Marauders 53-37 as Tanya Tatti scored 15, Rena Wesolowski 13, and Angela Nobes 5, while nabbing 15 boards. The Crusaders hit 14-21 from the line. The Crusaders Adrienne Cillis, despite being just 5-8, contained 6-3 Marauders post Tammy Sutton-Brown in the paint as the tournament’s smallest team dominated the boards. Angela Nobes told the Hamilton Spectator that “I’m so excited. It’s the best thing I’ve ever won. Nothing better could have happened to us. It all worked out great. We had a taste of silver and a taste of gold and I think that gold tastes better.” Rena Wesolowski said “we were kind of nervous because we’ve never played them before. We tried to be confident but not overconfident. We tried to go out there and work our hardest and do a good job. It was in our hearts that we wanted to win this and we got the gold.” Crusaders coach Karen Cutaia said “we had more experience this year. That helped us out for sure. I told them from the beginning that defence was going to win this game and they kept going at it and at it. If we hadn’t played like a team, we wouldn’t have won the gold.” Sutton-Brown paced the Marauders with 14. Lori Taylor added 11. The Crusaders led 17-10 after one quarter and Tanya Tatti hit a pair from beyond the arc in the second frame as St. Mary’s took a 39-31 lead at the half. The Crusaders hit seven treys on the night, including four by Tatti. Marauders coach George Kraus, who took an assistant coaching position with the University of Vermont after the season, said “they were so aggressive. They beat us to every ball. We had size on the boards but a lot of times they took it away from us and got position. They forced us into foul trouble and took us out of our flow. They outworked us, then they killed us with their shooting.”
The bronze medalist Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles: Jennifer Reid; Janet Reid; Paula Dubecki; Carole Rodrigues; Leona Fernandez; Melanie Bourne; Julie Landreville; Amy Jarvis; Michelle Carrozella; Cathy Lord; coach Bob Delaney; assistant Ted Farrell
The silver medalist Markham District H.S. Marauders: Tammy Sutton-Brown; Lori Taylor; Cathy Taylor; Jennifer Wirch; Elise Volpe; Tammy Cooper; coach George Kraus
The gold medalist Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders: Angela Nobes; Rena Wesolowski; Tanya Tatti; Adrianne Cillis; Gina Tatti; Nicole Cholavicius; coach Karen Cutaia; assistant Mischa Mackesy; assistant Kevin Karl