Regina’s Cymone Bouchard was named recipient of the Nan Copp. The fifth-year point guard became the second Cougar to win the honor and the seventh consecutive recipient from Canada West. Named to the first all-Canadian team for a second straight year, the Regina native finished the season in second place in Canada West scoring with 19 ppg, and led the conference in steals (3 spg) and three-point field goal percentage (.480). She was selected MVP of two tournaments and all-star of a third, was named player of the game seven times for the Cougars, and chosen Canada West female athlete of the week on three occasions. Bouchard won the CIS tourney MVP award in 2001 and CIS defensive player of the year award in 2003. The kinesiology student was a member of the 2003 Universiade team in Daegu, Korea and as a member of the 1998 Canadian Women’s 17 and Under team at the World Youth Games in Russia. “Cymone is one of the best women’s basketball players I have ever seen let alone had the privilege to coach,” said Regina coach Jeff Speedy. She is very athletic, very skilled, extremely coachable, a true leader, and most impressive of all, a great friend and teammate to 13 other student athletes.”
Bouchard, 22, becomes the fourth product of Regina’s high school system to cop the Copp in a six-season span.
She follows former U of R star Corrin Wersta (a product of Thom Collegiate who won the Nan Copp in 1999) and ex-Simon Fraser Clan standout Jessica Kaczowka (a graduate of LeBoldus High School who won in 2002 and ’03).
Bouchard broke into tears twice during her speech — “Sorry, some glass in my eye,” she said after the first instance, cracking up the audience — as she thanked her coaches and teammates. I knew what I wanted to say and who I wanted to thank, but when I got to the point about my teammates and I looked at them, I just lost it,” said Bouchard. “I can’t believe I crunched like that.” Teammate Jana Schweitzer said “I’m going to cry just thinking about it. She’s a special girl. She’s not just special on the court, she’s a special person, too. Her speech showed it. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. She tried to give us the tough-girl act when she came down off the stage, but we knew better.” Bouchard said she had an inkling she was going to win the Nan Copp Award when Memorial Sea-Hawks star Jenine Browne — who was viewed as Bouchard’s main competition for the award — didn’t attend the banquet. Even so, Bouchard wasn’t ready when her name was called. “My teammates were hounding me all day: ‘What are you going to say?” said Bouchard, who also was named a first-team All-Canadian for the second straight season. “I was like, ‘Guys, relax. If I don’t get up there, it’s not a big deal. It’ll be OK.’ I told them I wasn’t going to cry and then I did.”
U.B.C.’s Deb Huband was named the Ennis winner. In her ninth year at the helm, Huband guided the Thunderbirds to a 16-4 record, despite having 10 freshmen and sophomores. The T-Birds also held the No. 1 ranking for the first time in 29 years and qualified for the national championship for the first time in a decade. The Ottawa native was an assistant coach at the Sydney Olympics and coach at the World University Games in Korea in 2003. Huband played for the national team, commencing in 1978, and led Canada to a fourth-place finish at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. A graduate of Bishop’s and UBC (Masters), she was a three-time CIS All-Canadian and an inductee into both the Canadian Basketball and Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame. “I have to thank UBC and Canada Basketball for providing me with opportunities to develop as a coach. They have shown a lot of faith in me to be able to run a program and bring it to this level,” said Huband. “This kind of success has been a long time coming for the UBC program and it’s been a slow, steady climb. We’re just starting to get where we want to be and it’s nice to get acknowledged for the steps we’ve taken this year. This award is really a tribute to all the people who’ve been involved over the years, from the dedicated athletes to the support staff, alumni and beyond.”
Laurentian’s Cassandra Carpenter was named the Shields winner. The Kanata native, 5-11 forward and human kinetics student started immediately for the Lady Vees, averaging 14.47 ppg, while pulling down 197 rebounds and collecting 57 steals. The Earl of March Secondary product was selected an all-star at the Regina tournament, and named to the OUA East second all-star team. “Cassandra is a very strong, explosive athlete who was mentally and physically prepared to compete as a rookie,” said coach Mike Clarke. Unlike most first-year players, she got stronger as the year went on and her play improved during the second-half of the season. She is a fierce competitor and will continue to improve.”
U.B.C.’s Carrie Watson was named Defensive player of the year. The fifth-year vet was a Canada West first team all-star and the conference’s defensive player of the year. The Agassiz native ranked second in Canada West and 10th in the nation with 2.7 steals per game and was sixth in conference blocks. She helped the T-Birds allow a conference-low 54.1 ppg and was the best rebounding guard with 4.2 rpg. The 22-year-old also chipped in 12.2 ppg to tie for second in team scoring.
Joining Bouchard as 1st team All-Canadians were: Jenine Browne (Memorial); JoAnne Wells (Winnipeg); Dani Everitt (Victoria); and Nikki Doucet (Toronto). …………………………………………………… Browne, a 4th-year kinesiology student from St. Bride’s Newfoundland. …………………………………………………… Wells, a fourth-year arts student from Bedford, Nova Scotia. …………………………………………………… Everitt, a 5th-year humanities student from Guelph. …………………………………………………… Doucet, a 5th-year MBA student from Liverpool, Nova Scotia, was chosen OUA East player of the year. The 5-9 point guard averaged 12.4 ppg, 4.27 apg and 2.6 apg.
Joining Watson on the 2nd team were: Maria-Jose Raposo (Concordia); Kelli McHugh (Cape Breton); Anouk Boulanger (Bishop’s); and Sarah Crooks (Saskatchewan). …………………………………………………… Raposo, a 3rd-year sociology student from Montreal. …………………………………………………… McHugh, a sophomore arts student from Birkenhead, United Kingdom. …………………………………………………… Boulanger, a sophomore business student from Sherbrooke. …………………………………………………… Crooks, a sophomore Arts & Sciences student from Fife Lake, Saskatchewan.
Joining Carpenter on the all-rookie unit were: Emilie Crofton (Bishop’s); Emilie Ruel (Concordia); Cait Haggarty (U.B.C.); and Chiara Rocca (McMaster). …………………………………………………… Crofton, a humanities student from San Jose, California. …………………………………………………… Ruel, a linguistics student from Montreal. …………………………………………………… Haggarty, an arts student from Victoria, was the Canada West rookie of the year, stepping in admirably for injured starting point guard Sheila Townsend. The former Mount Douglas standout averaged 24 mpg, 6.5 ppg and 3.3 apg, while shooting .420 from the arc. …………………………………………………… Rocca, a humanities student from Sarnia.