Simon Fraser fifth-year guard Lani Gibbons wins the Copp. She becomes the 11th straight player from the Canada West conference to claim the Nan Copp Award since McGill’s Vicky Tessier was honoured in 1996-97. She is the second Clan recipient in history following post Jessica Kaczowka, who was a back-to-back winner in 2001-02 and 2002-03. Gibbons led the nation in assists for the third straight season averaging 5.7 per outing and contributed 12.0 points per game as the reigning national champion Clan finished second in CIS scoring with 82.0 points per duel. It marked the third consecutive campaign that the arts student averaged over five assists per contest. Behind the leadership of the speedy 5-foot-4 senior, Simon Fraser topped all 14 national coaches’ polls in 2007-2008, kept the best regular-season record in the nation at 22-1, captured the Canada West Pacific Division title, claimed bronze at the conference Final Four and earned top-seed status for the weekend’s CIS championship. The Clan is making its seventh consecutive appearance at the end-of-the-year tournament, the longest current streak in the country. Gibbons and fourth-year forward Courtney Gerwing are looking to become the first SFU players to win three CIS rings. “I’m honoured and a little shocked,” said Gibbons. “I always find individual awards to be about so much more than just the individual, I think this award is a reflection of the team and the coaching staff and everyone who has helped me get to where I am right now. I think the biggest change I have noticed this season is my maturity as a player. Every year my role has changed, and each year I have a little more responsibility. This season I am shooting a little more, and trying to become more of a threat offensively, and I feel like a more experienced player on the court.” Simon Fraser coach Bruce Langford says “Lani has had a successful year shooting the ball. She provides our team with an experienced leader, a poised and confident player who is able to score or distribute the ball to others at the appropriate times. Lani has an uncanny ability to get rebounds for a small player as well, she just has a nose for the ball.”
McMaster’s Theresa Burns captured the Peter Ennis Award as coach of the year. Burns is the first McMaster coach to receive award and the first OUA sideline boss to earn the recognition since Ennis himself was honoured in 1990-91 while at Laurentian. She led the Marauders to their third straight OUA West title, their second OUA banner in three seasons and a sixth CIS tournament appearance in eight years. McMaster posted an-OUA best mark of 21-1 in the regular season, finishing with the best point differential in the conference and allowed a CIS-low 47.6 points per contest. The former national team member, who claimed a CIS title as a player in 1985-86 as a member of the Toronto Varsity Blues, has guided the Marauders to four OUA championships in her 16 campaigns at the helm.
Rachel Hart of Manitoba claims her second consecutive Defensive player of the year award. The native of Ancaster, Ont. and 5-8 guard was the top shutdown player on a McMaster squad that finished first in the nation, limiting its opponents to 47.6 points per game. The 23-year-old ranked fifth in the OUA with 2.52 steals per outing and second with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.51, and was the Marauders second leading rebounder (6.4 rpg) on her way to being named a second-team OUA West all-star. Her leadership helped Mac post a conference-best 21-1 mark and capture its second OUA banner in three years. Hart was a member of the Ontario provincial team that won back-to-back juvenile national championships in 2001 and 2002. Hart also became the first McMaster recipient of the Tracey MacLeod Award, presented to a student-athlete who demonstrates determination, perseverance and unwavering spirit. Manitoba’s most valuable player and team captain in 2006-07, Hart chose to return home to Ancaster this year to be with her father and biggest fan, Dave, who was dying from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. With the help and support of Bisons head coach Pam Danis and Manitoba Athletic Director Coleen Dufresne, she sought and received permission from CIS to transfer to McMaster and play for the Marauders right away without the usual one-year loss of eligibility. In her return to her hometown, Hart served as a primary care giver to her father until he passed away in February, shortly after the Marauders final home game of the regular season.
UQAM’s Cora Duval, a native of Lamentin, Martinique, is chosen the national rookie of the year. Duval is the first Citadin to receive a national award since the team joined the QSSF in 2003-04. The 6-foot-1 post, who moved to Montreal from France to study English at UQAM and play for the Citadins, was named a first-team QSSF all-star after leading all players in the Quebec conference in offensive rebounds (3.5 rpg), finishing second in total rebounds (7.3 rpg) and third in scoring (12.6 ppg) in her university debut. Her 16 rebounds against Concordia on February 16 tied her for the best performance in Quebec this season. With the addition of Duval to their roster, the Citadins enjoyed the best campaign in their young history taking second place in the QSSF standings with a 12-4 mark before dropping a heartbreaking 73-70 overtime decision to powerhouse Laval in their first appearance in the conference final. “Cora is one of the very good athletes I’ve had the chance to coach and her potential to improve is almost unlimited,” said UQAM pilot Jacques Verchuere, who coached at the Cegep level for 25 years before moving to the university ranks to start the Citadin program five years ago.
Joining Gibbons as 1st team All-Canadians were: Lindsay DeGroot (McMaster); Katherine Quackenbush (Memorial); Marie-Michelle Genois (Laval); and Cassandra Carpenter (Laurentian). …………………………………………………… DeGroot from Thedford, Ont. DeGroot was third in the nation in scoring with 18.86 ppg. ………………………………………………. Quackenbush from Halifax, N.S. …………………………………………………… Genois from Cap-Santé, Que. …………………………………………………… Carpenter, from Kanata, Ont., led the nation in scoring this season with an average of 20.64 points per game.
The 2nd team All-Canadians were: Ryan McKay (Victoria); Kelsey Hodgson (Cape Breton); Dranadia Roc (Windsor); Courtney Coyle (Calgary); and Jenna Kaye (UPEI). …………………………………………………… McKay from Fredericton, N.B. …………………………………………………… Hodgson from Fredericton, N.B. …………………………………………………… Roc from Montreal, Que. …………………………………………………… Coyle from Cranbrook, B.C. …………………………………………………… Kaye from Sackville, N.B.
Joining Duval on the all-rookie team were: Amy Ogidan (Winnipeg); Iva Peklova (Windsor); Emma Duinker (Acadia); and Megan Lang (Calgary). …………………………………………………… Ogidan from Winnipeg Ogidan, a 6’0” guard out of Oak Park High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba was recently named the Canada West Conference Female Basketball Player Rookie of the Year, after helping to lead a young Wesmen team to an 8-14 regular season record and second place in the Great Plains Division. Ogidan finished in the top twenty in several Canada West categories including, 19th in scoring (11.6 ppg), 19th in rebounding (5.5 rpg) and 12th in block shots per game. Amy accomplished all this as a full-time starter in her first season of University level basketball. She was named the University of Winnipeg Female Athlete of the Week on four occasions during the 2007-08 season and was honored as the University of Winnipeg’s Female Athlete of the Month during the months of November 2007 and February 2008. “Amy had a wonderful season as a ‘rookie’. She led our team in most statistical categories. She is a natural athlete and leader, coachable, driven and a great person. A well-deserved honor. She was clearly the Best Rookie in Canada West.”, said University of Winnipeg Women’s Basketball Coach Tanya McKay. Before joining the Wesmen, Ogidan was regarded as one of the top high school players in Canada. In her final season at Oak Park, she averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds and five steals per game for the Pirates. Amy was a member of the Manitoba Provincial Basketball Program for the past five years and has been identified by the National Team thru the Centre of Performance with Canada Basketball. …………………………………………………… Peklova from Prague, Czech Republic. …………………………………………………… Duinker of Cambridge, N.S. …………………………………………………… Lang from Calgary, Alta.