In the opening round, held in Etobicoke: …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Windsor Walkerville Tartans defeated the Scarborough Sir John A. MacDonald Black Scots 64-46. The Tartans full-court press generated a 37-19 lead at the half. “We had a really good first half and that helped get the jitters out of our system quickly,” Walkerville coach Linda McGuffin told the Windsor Star. “Our defence and team play were really solid. … You always worry about the first game, but the way the girls came out and played so strongly was really inspiring.” Shalonda Washington led the Tartans with 16. Merna Hartwell added 12, Kerry Duench 10, Johanna Newby 9 and Tila Tood 8. Sharon Palmer led MacDonald with 23. …………………………………………………… The unranked Toronto Oakwood Barons stunned the 5th-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders 63-57 in overtime. The Crusaders led 14-9 after the first quarter, 26-22 at the half and 40-35 with eight minutes to play. But the Barons rallied and forced overtime on a free throw by Pat Marcello and the score knotted at 52. She shouted at obscenity as she turned to the bench, according to Crusaders coach kevin Karl, who was outraged that there was technical on the play. Marcello opened the overtime with a layup and later added three free throws as the Barons pulled out the win. “We went in with an attitude that we were going to win,” Barons coach Pat Quigley told the Toronto Star. “It wasn’t just one player. All the girls on the team truly played an outstanding defensive game against one of the top teams in Ontario.” Pat Marcello led the Barons with 22. Quigley told the Hamilton Spectator that “I don’t condone what she (Marcello) did and she knows it. It was inexperience coming through from a young player.” Tanya Tatti paced the Crusaders with 16. Karl told the Spectator that Marcello’s obscenity “was totally unacceptable. It was definitely against OFSAA policy” and a free throw agains the Barons might have allowed the Crusaders to win. “We didn’t shoot well or play well defensively. WE had a lack of concentration on defence. There’s no way girls should be hitting six or seven open layups in a game against anybody at this leve. And we allowed that many. You can’t win playing like that.” …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Markham District Marauders clubbed the Kingston Frontenac Falcons 55-32 as Tammy Sutton-Brown scored 17. Taryn Turnbull led the Falcons with 8. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded London Oakridge Oaks stomped the Mississauga Port Credit Warriors 74-31 as Jennifer Haylor scored 14. Catherine Chorney led the Warriors with 13. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Niagara Falls A.N. Myer Marauders crushed the Ottawa St. Pius X X-Women 56-36 as Nikki Johnson scored 27. Leanne Clarke led the X-Women with 13. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Sudbury Lasalle Lancers blasted the Toronto West Humber Vikings 70-45 as Shelley Dewar scored 23. Tanya Sadler led the Vikings with 23. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Kitchener Resurrection Catholic Phoenix edged the Scarborough Mary Ward Wolverines 62-55 as Kim Kassic scored 23, Lisa Poulin 13, Colleen Galloway 10, Melanie Witzell 6 and Kim Poulin 5. The Phoenix led 39-31 at the half and 55-45 after three quarters. Phoenix coach Anne Facey told the Kitchener-Waterloo Reocrd that “you could see we hadn’t played a serious game in two weeks.” Alicia Ritchie led the Wolverines with 33. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Toronto Michael Power-St. Joseph’s Trojans stomped the Peterborough Adam Scott CVI Lions 52-19 as Tania Bailey scored 15. Mara Stefanski, Trisha Lacey and Stephanie Dart each scored 4 to pace the Lions.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The Windsor Walkerville Tartans clipped the Kingston Frontenac Falcons 65-56 as Shalonda Washington scored 26, Tila Todd 14 and Kerry Duench 9. Lauren Haggerty led the Falcons with 14. The Falcons (coached by Tim McCue) also included Taryn Turnbull, Kelly Bates, Heidi Siemonse, Andrea Piper, Kerri Parslow, Leena Thomas. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Markham District Marauders dispatched the Scarborough Macdonald Black Scots 56-28 as Tammy Cooper scored 17. Sharon Palmer led the Black Scots with 19. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded London Oakridge Oaks nipped the 5th-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders 57-56 as Jennifer Haylor scored 26. Oak guard Amy Pinnegar hit the winning free throw with no time on the clock after a blocking foul was called against Crusader Gina Tatti at midcourt. Tanya Tatti led the Crusaders with 27. Crusaders coach Kevin Karl told the Hamilton Spectator that “to call that at halfoucrt with no time remaining … I don’t think so. It wasn’t even near the basket. They (officials) were letting a lot go, which is fine. It was weird. Players on both sides were cutting through the lane, getting hacked, a no call. But little touch fouls in the open court were being called. … They came out and couldn’t miss. We picked up the pressure in the second half though and that got us back.” The Crusaders (coached by Kevin Karl) also include Skye Angus, Adrienne Cillis, Gina Tatti, Tracy Rowthorne, Lori Ketenmark, Naomi Spitale, Lisa Chrolavicius, Rachel Ellison and Tracy Rawthorn. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Niagara Falls A.N. Myer Marauders blasted the Peterborough Adam Scott CVI Lions 61-29 as Nikki Johnson scored 17, Kristy Newton 15, Lang 8, Bosco 8, Karin Thompson 5 and Fabiani 2. The Maraduers led 19-8, 37-14 and 50-25 at the quarters. Stephanie Dart led the Lions with 14. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Sudbury Lasalle Lancers clipped the Scarborough Mary Ward Wolverines 48-33 as Shelley Dewar scored 21. Alicia Ritchie led the Wolverines with 20. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Kitchener Resurrection Catholic Phoenix edged the Toronto West Humber Vikings 62-57 as Lisa Poulin scored 15 (also reported as 18). Tanya Sadler led the Vikings with 23. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Toronto Michael Power-St. Joseph’s Trojans dispatched the Ottawa St. Pius X X-Women 41-30 as Tania Bailey scored 17. Leanne Clark led the X-Women with 18. The X-Women (coached by Jim Dale) also included Tamara McNulty, Bridgit Lehmann. …………………………………………………… The Toronto Oakwood Barons dumped the Mississauga Port Credit Warriors 47-36 as Pat Marcello scored 15. Catherine Chorney led the Warriors with 20. The Warriors (coached by Mr. Penrose, manager Tanya Cadogan) also included Jennifer Chorney, Lisa Parker, Elif Karol, Natalie McKenzie, Lori Parker, Julie Ock, Tanya Lehner, Jane Lea, Millicent Dampare, Leslie Fenton, Shannon Grainger and Karen Parent.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Markham District Marauders defeated the 8th-seeded Toronto Michael Power-St. Joseph’s Trojans 52-43 despite trailing by four with 2:26 to play after Power’s top two players, including star guard Tania Bailey, who scored 18, fouled out. “We started off bad, got down on ourselves and just never really seemed to have it all together,” Markham forward Tammy Cooper, one of four starters to score 10, told the Toronto Star. Cooper said the Marauders were on the verge of folding when team catalyst Kathy Taylor missed the entire first half with a knee injury. Taylor, however, was back with the game on the line. Tammy Sutton-Brown led the Marauders with 12. The Marauders led 25-22 at the half. “We just ran out of time and players and let opportunities get away,” said Trojans coach Paul McGrath. “The best time to beat a big team is in the quarterfinals and we came very close to doing it. No regrets, my girls played like a Top 10 team and deserved to be here.” While Markham’s biggest lead was 23-13 just before halftime, the Marauders had difficulty adjusting to a tough zone defence and the hot shooting of Bailey.
The 4th-seeded Sudbury LaSalle Lancers dumped the Toronto Oakwood Barons 60-48 as Shelley Dewar scored 15. Pat Marcello led the Barons with 14.
The 3rd-seeded Niagara Falls Myer Marauders defeated the Windsor Walkerville Tartans 59-42 as Nikki Johnson scored 28, while nabbing 17 boards. Kristy Newton added 13, Stef Fabiani 9, Lynn Lang 8 and Debra Bosco 2. Marauders coach Sheri Findlater told the Niagara Falls /review that her troops effectively doubled Shalondra Washington once they shifted to a 3-2 zone. “Whenever the ball came into an area where she could shoot, there were two players on her very quickly.” Shalonda Washington led the Tartans with 19. Tila Todd added 7 and Johanna Newby 6. The Tartans led 11-5 after one quarter and 22-19 at the half. The Marauders led 41-36 after three quarters. The Tartans (coached by McGuffin) also included Kerry Duench, Merna Hartwell. “We had a tremendous season and I think the players are a little disappointed not to have played better in the second half,” coach Linda McGuffin told the Windsor Star. “But Myer’s a strong, very experienced team and once they got on a roll, it was tough to stop them.”
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded London Oakridge Oaks stomped the 7th-seeded Kitchener Resurrection Catholic Phoenix 59-34 as Jennifer Haylor scored 23. Kim Kassik led the Phoenix with 14. Colleen Galloway added 5. The Phoenix (coach Anne Facey) also included Kim Poulin, Kelly Riedel, Lisa Poulin, Melanie Witzell, Leah Schomagyi, Jacquie Fler. Facey told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we held our own with them for a while but they were an outstanding team when it came to shooting.”
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded London Oakridge Oaks edged the 3rd-seeded Niagara Falls A.N. Myer Marauders 54-50 as Amy Pinnegar scored 20 and Jenn Haylor 17. Nikki Johnson led the Marauders with 18 (also reported as 14). Christie Newton added 14 (also reported as 19), Lynn Lang 8, Stef Fabiani 6 and Debra Bosco 4. Johnson picked up her fourth foul late in the third quarter and was limited to one point in the final frame. Johnson knotted the score at 50 with 1-2 from the line with 1:53 to pay but the Oaks Christie Lauzon hit two free throws to ice it with 19 seconds on the clock. Marauders coach Sheri Findlater told the St. Catharines Standard that “no doubt it was the best game of the tournament. The two best teams met early. … We hit seven three-pointers under pressure. It was just a fantastic game.”
In the other semi, the top-seeded Markham District Marauders defeated the 4th-seeded Sudbury LaSalle Lancers 47-38 as Lori Taylor scored 18. Shelley Dewar led the Lancers with 12.
In the bronze medal match, the 4th-seeded Sudbury LaSalle Lancers dumped the 3rd-seeded Niagara Falls Myer Marauders 47-39 (also reported as 45-39) as Shelley Dewar scored 19. Nikki Johnson led the Marauders with 26. Kristy Newton added 11 and Lynn Lang 2. Marauders coach Sherry Findlater told the St. Catharines Standard that “unfortunately, we had to play two hours (after the semi) and had nothing left.” Findlater told the Niagara Falls Review that “it’s hard for the kids to get back up for the game against LaSalle and we just didn’t have the zip. They were tired and emotionally drained.” The Marauders (coached by Findlater and Bob Coull) also included Stef Fbiano, Debbie Bosco, Catherin Petheram, Karin Thomson, Pam Dueck.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded London Oakridge Oaks defeated the top-seeded Markham District H.S. Marauders 45-37. The Oaks finished (45-3) on the season, while the Marauders lost their first game in 36 starts. “Nerves had lots to do with it,” guard Lori Taylor told the Toronto Star. “No one wanted a repeat of last year but we also never played the way we’re capable of and it showed.” Oakridge’s Jennifer Haylor fired a 20-footer that gave the Oaks a 40-35 lead with 1:47 left in the game. Markham’s Tammy Cooper, who along with Taylor had a dozen points, cut the lead to three, but Taylor missed a desperation three-point shot in the final minute. “They beat us earlier and that was a great motivational tool,” said Haylor, who scored 17. “But our team depth, especially when some of us were in early foul trouble, kicked in big time.” Oakridge’s Amy Pinnegar added 14. The Oaks led 11-8 after the first quarter and 32-30 after three quarters. “We had some concerns on the bench when two starters had foul problems, but the kids who came off were sharp, we remained confident and when you have an outstanding player like Haylor, that says enough,” Oakridge coach Don Rowdon said.
The bronze medalist Sudbury LaSalle Lancers: Shelley Dewar; Shannon Hann; coach Bill Sherman
The silver medalist Markham District H.S. Marauders: Lori Taylor; Tammy Sutton-Brown; Kathy Taylor; Elisse Volpe; Tammy Cooper; Jennifer Wirch; coach Bill McCarthy
The gold medalist London Oakridge Oaks: Jennifer Haylor; Amy Pinnegar; coach Don Rowdon; assistant Tony Gonser