In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The host Outlook LCBI Lady Bisons defeated the Birch Hills Marauders 75-60. The Bison led 14-12 after one quarter, 31-30 at the half and 55-38 after three quarters. LCBI pulled away in the third quarter on the strength of three treys by Courtney Wig and sustained a 15-point lead until the end. Christie Ann McCullough led the Bisons with 24. Amber Larsen added 23, Susan Akre 10 and Courtney Wig 9. Megan Manson paced Birch Hills with 28. Rychelle Engele added 15, Lauren Mills 9 and Colleen Heffernan 8. …………………………………………………… The Watrous Wildcats dumped the Rosthern Junior College Longhorns 57-34. Watrous led 11-6, 30-21 and 49-24 at the quarters. Watrous outscored RJC 19-3 in the third quarter to put the game away. Haley Manson paced Watrous with 21. Tara Manson added 17, Sara Penrose 7 and Paul Sather 6. Laurie Harder and Darlene Bezeau each scored 8 to lead Rosthern. Courtney Fraser added 6 and Carla Regehr 6. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hounds walloped Onion Lake Eagleview Composite Eagles 91-20. The Hounds broke to an early 26-6 lead and extended it to 41-2 at the half. Thomi Olson scored 17 and Harriet Halse 16 to lead the Hounds. Angelle Chelle scored 9 to lead the Eagles. …………………………………………………… The host Outlook Blues defeated the Fort Qu’Appelle Bert Fox Lakers 64-35. The Blues took an early 15-9 lead and maintained the edge until the half, after which they led 26-19. Outlook’s full-court pressure began to wear down the Lakers in the third quarter as the Blues extended their lead to 17 and coasted. Kendra Morrow paced Outlook with 22. Tori Olson added 10. Tesse Hedley led the Lakers with 8. …………………………………………………… The Shaunavon Silhouettes crushed Carnduff 87-14 as Erika Zult scored 13 and J. Thompson 12. S. Mann paced Carnduff with 5. K. McMillen added 4. Shaunavon led 40-9 at the half. …………………………………………………… The Clavet Cougars edged the Assiniboia Rockets 59-57 as H. Hanbidge scored 17, while S. Tiesson and E. Smith each added 13. Lynne Taillon paced Assiniboia with 14. K. Oancia and M. Rasmussen each added 11. Clavet led 32-26 at the half. …………………………………………………… The Indian Head Broncs whipped the Prince Albert Rivier Academy Guardians 69-27 after opening with a 10-0 run and romping to the easy win. …………………………………………………… The Wynyard Bears waxed the Delisle Rebels 67-46. Delisle took an early lead off turnovers generated with full-court pressure before Wynyard’s Brandi Rink drained a trey to re-ignite the Bears. Delisle led 13-9 after one quarter but the Bears exploded for an 11-2 run in the second frame to take a 27-23 lead at the half. A 6-0 run in the third quarter extended the lead to 44-35 and Kendra Lefflers drilled a pair of back-to-back buckets in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Brandi Rink paced Wynyard with 16. Jamie Sparrow led Delisle with 14.
In the quarterfinals, the Outlook LCBI Lady Bisons thumped the Watrous Wildcats 72-52. L.C.B.I led 23-12 at the quarter and 41-26 at the half. In the third quarter, Watrous narrowed the lead to 10, before LCBI took command on deadly marksmanship. Christie Anne McCullough led LCBI with 20 points. Amber Larson added 18, while Rebekah Hove and Courtney Wig each notched 12. Haley Manson paced Watrous with 16 points. Sara Penrose added 12, Tara Manson 12 and Paula Sather 6.
The Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hounds defeated the Outlook Blues 51-44. The Blues took a 23-21 lead at the half on a late trey by Kendra Morrow. But back-to-back treys by Thomi Olson and Jill Evans late in the fourth quarter decided the outcome for the Hounds before they iced it at the line despite a late trey by Courtney Spence. Olson paced Notre Dame with 23. Morrow paced Outlook with 15.
The Shaunavon Silhouettes defeated the Clavet Cougars 54-44 as Kelsie Bastura scored 28 and R. Vause 15. S. Thiesson paced Clavet with 23. E. Smith added 11. Shaunavon led 27-20 at the half.
In the last quarterfinal, the Indian Head Broncs edged the Wynyard Bears 56-53. Indian Head took an early 6-0 lead and extended it to 32-23 at the half. The Bears rallied in the third quarter, trimming the margin to three and finally took the lead at 51-50 with two minutes to play. The Broncs’ Gabby Gheyssen capitalized on a turnover and then iced it at the line.
In the semis, the Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hounds defeated the Outlook LCBI Lady Bisons 72-60. Notre Dame rallied from a slim deficit in the second half and wore down the Lady Bisons in the final quarter. The Hounds erased a 53-48 third-quarter deficit by going on a 21-3 run to start the fourth. With their defence cranked up and offence clicking, Notre Dame knocked off the defending champs. “We’ve been thinking about that game since last year,” said Veronica Nadeau, who led Notre Dame with 21. Thomi Olson added 15. “We’ve worked so hard every day this season to get back here.” Amber Larson paced L.C.B.I. with 20. Christine Anne McCullogh added 17.
In the other semi, the Shaunavon Silhouettes defeated the Indian Head Broncos 61-51. Shaunavon led 35-24 at the half. Kelsie Bastura and Erika Zult had 22 points each for Shaunavon, while Gabby Gheyssen scored 20 for Indian Head. Michelle Alspach added 12.
In the bronze medal match, the Indian Head Broncos edged the Outlook LCBI Lady Bisons 72-67 as Gabby Gheyssen scored 32 and Michelle Alspach 15. Amber Larson paced LCBI with 22. Kristen Pask added 15. Outlook took a 21-15 lead after a quarter and then exploded with an 11-0 run as they took a 38-25 lead at the break. Indian Head rallied in the third frame, tying the game at 53 on a buzzer-beating trey by Gabby Gheyssen. She hit another bucket and pair of treys down the stretch as Indian Head pulled out the win. The Bisons also included Christine Anne McCullogh.
In the final, the Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hounds defeated the Shaunavon Silhouettes 48-42. Shaunavon took an early 17-8 lead on the play of Kelsie Bastura. The Silhouettes led 23-16 at the half but the Hounds rallied in the third with a series of three-pointers and pressure defence. Hannah Konschuh paced the Hounds with 15. Notre Dame earned its first title after four second-place finishes. Thomi Olson added 10. Kelsie Bastura paced the Silhouettes with 21. Erika Zult added 12. “It proves that we weren’t a one- or two-man team,” Olson said after the win. “We had a lot of depth.” The Hounds needed every inch of that depth because Notre Dame trailed 23-16 at the end of the first half to the Shaunavon Silhouettes in the gold-medal final. Notre Dame held Shaunavon to four points in the third quarter. “It was pure joy,” said Olson. “It felt good and it was about time. I was getting sick of coming second.” The win capped an amazing run for the Hounds. Notre Dame was unbeaten during the RIBL regular season, won the 4A RIBL championship and capped the year with a provincial title. “I felt a bit of pressure but I wasn’t that nervous much because we’re not a one-man team,” said Olson, who shared in three silver medals at Hoopla with the Hounds. “I didn’t feel that I had to score all of the points or get every rebound. We had a strong starting five and a strong bench. I felt pretty good about us winning.” Evans noted “it was kind of upsetting losing but it was amazing to win. It wouldn’t have ruined the season if we lost but it was pretty close. I’m glad we made it.”
The bronze medalist Indian Head Broncos: Gabby Gheyssen; Michelle Alspach;
The silver medalist Shaunavon Silhouettes: Kelsie Bastura; Erika Zult; J. Thompson; R. Vause; coach Tim Miller
The gold medalist Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hounds: Thomi Olson; Hannah Konschuh; Veronica Nadeau; Jill Evans; Joanie Bouchard; Rayme Schultz; Harriet Halse; Jennifer Evans; coach Wayne Morrison