In the Regina city semis, the Luther Lions clubbed the Sister McGuigan Mustangs 71-37 after leading 37-20 at the half. Suzanne Meiers led the Lions with 20. Holly McRae added 15. Christina Hlosovsky led the Mustangs with 8. The Mustangs also included Michelle Stadnyk. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Central Gophers ripped the Scott Blues 76-28 as Vivian Kingdon scored 28. The Blues included Rhonda Rein, Janis Hollinger, Carla Daglean. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Luther Lions edged the Central Gophers 62-61 as Deb Salaway scored 19 and Suzanne Meiers 16. Shelly Hannah led the Gophers with 21. Vivian Kingdon added 16. Central led 36-34 at the half. Luther post Suzanne Meiers told the Regina Leader-Post that “we had a good feeling coming into the game, even though we lost twice to Central (during the regular season). We had real good attitude and played like a team.” Luther took a 59-51 lead down the stretch and hung on for the win. Central rallied to within 62-61 but didn’t foul over the final 13 seconds, even though the Lions had missed their free throws during the Central rally. Gophers coach Lorne Armstrong said “they’re so much in mind not to foul that when they need to, they just can’t do it. We were out outplayed. We got out of our offence and tried to freelance too much, which doesn’t work.” Lions coach Sandy Nelson said “they wanted it so badly. They’re a real team, whether on the bench or on the floor, they cheer for each other. We basically worked the offence around from 2-3 to 1-3-1. With lots of good shooters, we weren’t keying on one scorer.”
In the South region quarterfinals: …………………………………………………… The Regina Central Gophers edged the Moose Jaw Vanier Spirits 57-55 as Vivian Kingdon scored 22 and Nola Shyiak 16. Tanja Dyck led the Spirits with 18. Laura Hicke added 17. Gophers forward Anita LeBrie told the Regina Leader-Post that “we played terrible. We wanted to work hard to prepare for Swift Current. Swift Current is too much on our minds the last few games. That’s all we thought of, we’re so afraid to meet up with them finally.” Vanier broke to a 6-0 lead on 2 buckets by Julie Herred and one by Nicole Hartley. Central responded with a 10-0 run. Spirit guard Tanja Dyck hit a trey to trim the margin to 31-27 at the half. Spirits coach Kelly Whitehead said “all week long, we shot outside and practiced the three-pointer. We’re not a big team, so I was hoping they played zone defence so we could shoot outside. … From about the 8-minute mark in the second half, we hustled and kept in the game. They realized they had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Rumour had it that Central was a good team and I thought we outplayed, outhustled and out shot them.” Gophers coach Lorne Armstrong said “we played sloppy. We were stationary and not in it on defense. So, we took a time-out and diagrammed how the forwards and guards were not helping each other.” The Gophers led 53-49 when Shelly Hannah took a long pass for a bucket and an and-one. She missed the free throw but followed up the shot with a putback. Central led 57-49 with less than a minute to play. Dyck hit two free throws to trim the final margin. The Spirits (coached by Kelly Whitehead) also included Julie Jerred, Nicole Hartley. …………………………………………………… The Swift Current Ardens pounded the Regina McGuigan Mustangs 73-36 as Rona Lee Thistlethwaite scored 17. Lynette Desjarlais led the Mustangs with 10. The Mustangs also included Christian Hlosovsky, Michelle Stadnyk. …………………………………………………… The Regina Luther Lions clipped the Estevan Composite Elecs 51-39 as Suzanne Myers scored 15. Chantel Goodmanson led the Elecs with 19. Lion Dawn Lammer injured her ankle in the fray. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers (then the Bouncers) bombed the Yorkton Regional Raiders 66-23 as Wanda Shaw scored 12. Cheryl Blahut led the Raiders with 16. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Swift Current Ardens clocked the Regina Central Gophers 85-31 as Shelly Henry scored 22. Vivian Kingdon led the Gophers with 15. The Gophers (coached by Lorne Armstrong) also included Anita Labrie, Shelly Hannah, Nola Shyiak. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Regina Luther Lions dispatched the Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Bouncers 57-52 as Suzanne Myers scored 23. Wanda Shaw led the Bouncers with 21. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Swift Current Ardens whipped the Regina Luther Lions 75-47 as Shelly Henry scored 24. Suzanne Myers led the Lions with 27.
In the northern playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the opening round, the North Battleford Viqueens clipped the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders 72-54. …………………………………………………… The Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders edged the Saskatoon Nutana Blues 62-60. …………………………………………………… In the first qualifier, the North Battleford Viqueens defeated the Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders x-x. …………………………………………………… In the second qualifier, the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders dispatched the Saskatoon Nutana Collegiate Blues x-x. The Blues included Allison Maclean, Kim Yantz.
In the provincial semis, the North Battleford Viqueens clocked the Regina Luther Lions 81-47 as Colleen Muth scored 26 and Lesa Mayes 21. Suzanne Myers led the Lions with 14. Andrea Wagner added 13.
In the other semi, the Swift Current Ardens crushed the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders 73-40.
In the bronze medal match, the Regina Luther Lions dumped the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders 52-46 as Suzanne Myers scored 14, Bekke Lee 13, Andrea Wagner 11 and Deb Salaway 6. Janet MacDonald paced the Crusaders with 18. Kim Muir added 8 and Kendra Fernie 8.
In the final, the Swift Current Ardens defeated the North Battleford Viqueens 74-48 as Jeanette Bell scored 25, Jenny Heeg 20, Terri Martin 12 and Shelley Henry 11. Colleen Muth paced the Viqueens with 14. Lesa Mayes added 14 and Jay Radchenko 12. The Ardens finished (30-0) on the season.
The bronze medalist Regina Luther Lions: Suzanne Meyers; Deb Salaway; Heather Barnsley; Becky Lee; Holly MacRae; Leslee Nicurity; Andrea Wagner; coach Sandy Nelson
The silver medalist North Battleford Viqueens: Colleen Muth; Lesa Mayes; Jay Radchenko; coach Frank Frijouf
The gold medalist Swift Current Ardens: Rona Lee Thistlethwaite; Shelley Henry; Jeannette Bell; Jenny Heeg; Terri Martin; coach Marg Brown