Winnipeg’s JoAnne Wells
was named recipient of the Nan Copp. The 6-0, 22-year-old guard from Bedford, Nova
Scotia led the CIS in scoring this season with an
average of 24.3 ppg, and topped the country with a .906 free-throw shooting percentage,
which set a new single-season team record. Her 54.6 field goal percentage
placed her fourth in Canada West. She also averaged 7 rpg. The Wesmen captain
helped her team claim the Great Plains
division regular season title with a 17-3 record. It was Well’s third selection
as a first-team All-Canadian. She moved into fourth place on the Wesmen all-time
career scoring list with 3082 points, and was named an Academic All-Canadian in
each her five years. “In JoAnne’s five years she has always been driven and
vying to be the best,” says coach Tanya McKay. “She is a very coachable individual
who leads by example both on and off the court. JoAnne has been a joy to coach
and I know she would trade in all her personal achievements for a gold medal
this weekend.” Wells, the first Atlantic Canadian to win the Copp, said “it’s a
very proud moment for me. It’s quite overwhelming. It’s the biggest honour I
can imagine. I’ve already had people from Nova Scotia
and Newfoundland
come over and congratulate me. I’m pretty thrilled.”
Simon Fraser’s Bruce Langford won
the Ennis, his second in four years, having been selected in 2002. The Clan
entered the national draw with a 35-2 record, after cruising through the
regular season with a perfect 20-0 record on its way to the Canada West playoff
title. SFU is 35-0 since dropping its first two non-conference outings of the campaign
to NCAA Division 1 Texas. In four seasons at the helm of the Clan, Langford
shows a 118-19 overall record, while guiding his troops to a pair of perfect
20-0 regular seasons, four appearances at the
nationals, and the university’s first and only CIS title, in 2001-02. That
year, the Clan notched a 35-0 record, part of an SFU record streak of 41
consecutive wins. Langford has collected numerous honours in his 23-year coaching
career, including 2001 B.C. University Coach of the Year, High School Coach of
the Year, and 1994 Basketball B.C. Coach
of the Year. Prior to joining SFU, Langford coached Mission’s
Heritage Park High School
to a perfect record in 2000.
York’s Laura MacCallum was named Shields winner. The Paris, Ontario native, a 5-7 guard, finished second in team scoring and seventh in the OUA with a 14.1 ppg, while logging over 33 minutes of play per outing. A strong outside shooter who can also drive the lane and a solid defensive player, “Laura has a tremendous passion for the game of basketball and a strong will to compete,” said York coach Bill Pangos. “She is willing to play any role to help the team win. She has been a pleasure to coach and I am looking forward to having her in our program for four more years.”
Victoria’s Jody Potts was named Defensive Player of the Year. The fifth-year guard from Red Deer started 27 of 28 games entering the nationals, and averaging over 29 minutes of play per outing. Recognized as one of the fiercest defenders in Canada West she matches up every night against the opponent’s best shooters, and helped the Vikes to impressive defensive stats including first in the conference in defensive rebounds with an average of 29.8 per game, and fourth in points allowed with an average of 58.4 per contest. Potts also chipped in offensively, finishing second in team scoring with 14.2 ppg, while shooting .430 from the field and .290 from the arc. “Jody lays in on the line every night,” said Vikes coach Brian Cheng. “She is tenacious, skilled and sees the court extremely well. Jody is a pleasure to coach and most deserving of this defensive player of the year award.” The fifth-year guard from Red Deer, Alta., said “I have always played defence with a lot of pride and it is pretty exciting to win this award. Defence is often overlooked because people watch NBA games with all those dunks and the high scoring. People are always commenting about how well our team plays defence and this award is just a reflection of that.” Potts was the club’s top scorer during the regular Canada West season with 14.6 points per game. She was also second on the Vikes in rebounding with 107 and first in steals with 48 and blocked shots with six. “To use a hockey term, Jody [Potts] is a complete two-way player,” said Vikes’ coach Brian Cheng. “She [Potts] is always matched up against the other team’s top scorer and she holds them to a manageable amount. Jody needs to defend for us to win and she sets the tone for us. We have a one- two defensive punch of Jody and Jania [Mynott] on the inside and the others chip in to do an outstanding job. We’ve had Jody defend against JoAnne Wells, Sheila Townsend, Anouk Boulanger and Jana Schweitzer and she did an outstanding job. All of those players were All Canadians.”
Joining Wells as 1st team All-Canadians were: Jenine Browne (Memorial); Sarah Crooks (Saskatchewan); Cassandra Carpenter (Laurentian); and Anouk Boulanger (Bishop’s). …………………………………………………… Browne, a fifth-year kinesiology student from St. Bride’s, became the first player since Calgary great Leighann Doan to earn 1st team honors for a fourth consecutive campaign. She finished seconds in the country in scoring with 22.5 ppg, after claiming the national scoring crown for three straight years. …………………………………………………… Crooks, a junior from Fife Lake. …………………………………………………… Carpenter, a sophomore special education student from Kanata. …………………………………………………… Boulanger, a junior business student from Sherbrooke.
The 2nd-team All-Canadians were: Sheila Townsend (U.B.C.); Kelli McHugh (Cape Breton); Jodie Ebeling (Brock); Jana Schweitzer (Regina); and Caroline D’Amours (Laval). …………………………………………………… Townsend, a fifth-year human kinetics student from Pitt Meadows. …………………………………………………… McHugh, a junior arts student from Birkenhead, United Kingdom. …………………………………………………… Ebeling, a junior phys ed student from Fenwick, Ontario. …………………………………………………… Schweitzer, a fifth-year administration student from Regina. …………………………………………………… D’Amours, a 4th-year history student from Quebec City.
Joining MacCallum on the all-rookie unit were: Jenifer Ezirim (Winnipeg); Kathleen Singh (New Brunswick); Julianne Noseworthy (McGill); and Cari te Boekhorst (McMaster). …………………………………………………… Ezirim, an arts student from Winnipeg. …………………………………………………… Singh, a kinesiology student from Fredericton. …………………………………………………… Noseworthy, a science student from Kanata. …………………………………………………… te Boekhorst, a social science student from Dundas.