REGULAR SEASON
| Victoria | 16-4 | Kathy Shields | |||||||
| U.B.C. | 13-7 | Misty Thomas | |||||||
| Calgary | 12-8 | Shawnee Harle | |||||||
| Lethbridge | 10-10 | Dori Johnson | |||||||
| Saskatchewan | 5-15 | Tracey Bowie | |||||||
| Alberta | 4-16 | 11-23 | Trix Baker | ||||||
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Alberta Pandas: Nadine Fennig, Kirstin Johns, Rania Burns, Kristy Wiebe, Nadine Traptow, Maeve Maguire, Krista Johnstone, Rachelle Van Zanten, Tanya Perrett, Daisy Groff, Karen Brydon, Jenee Lutz, Clare Brown, Heather Myers, Darcy Nowak, coach Trix Kannekens-Baker
Saskatchewan Huskies: Allison Fairbrother, Nan Anderson, Lori Henderson, Tara Severson, Natasha Kipot, Melanie Rakochy, Stacy Wilson, Joelle Schoenfeld, Kim Grant, Sydney Parsons, Rebecca Lieffers, Susan Deibert, Heather Stalwick, coach Tracey Bowie
In the semis, U.B.C. defeated Calgary 90-71; 74-59 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, U.B.C. thrashed Calgary by 19 as Adair Duncan scored 22. Lisa Bacigalupi and Kara Haines each scored 15 to lead Calgary. 6-0 post Adair Duncan scored 22 on 8-12 from the field and 6-6 from the line. Kim Phipps and Erin Fennell came off the UBC bench to score 19 and 13 points respectively, while senior swing forward Wendi Palmer added nine points, seven assists and five rebounds. Lisa Bacigalupi and Kara Haines each had 15 points for Calgary. “Both teams didn’t play their best,” UBC coach Misty Thomas said. UBC out-rebounded Calgary 34- 21 Friday. …………………………………………………… In game two, UBC prevailed 81-49 to complete the sweep. Adair Duncan led UBC with 21 points, while teammates Trixie Cruz and Wendi Palmer each added 11 points. “They didn’t play that great last night, so we expected them to be tough,” said Duncan. “It’s always harder to win the second night.” Lisa Bacigalupi led the Dinnies with 26.
In the other semi, Victoria defeated Lethbridge 76-58; 81-49 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Victoria prevailed 76-58 after exploding to a 12-0 lead after four minutes. The Vikes led 41-32 at the half. “We looked nervous,” said disappointed Lethbridge coach Dori Johnson. “We were just tentative out there. And UVic was ready to pounce on us. …We just fell out of synch in the second half. It was a combination of Vic’s defence and us not being able to adapt. Our perimeter didn’t play well at all and we had 32 turnovers.” Vikes point guard Christine Van Aert said “we had a good warmup and we were raring to go. And our defence was there. That was a key – big time.” The Vikes defence forced 32 Pronghorn turnovers. The Horns pulled within 43-40 on an inside bucket by forward Deborah Hubbard less than five minutes into the second half. That was as close as they got. The Vikes, led by the outside game of Van Aert and Tamara Carruthers and the inside presence of the six-foot-five Cherie Birtwistle, then went on a decisive 18-4 run. Van Aert and Carruthers paced the UVic attack with identical 15-point, five-assist efforts while Birtwistle added 18 points from the low post. But the Vikes lost Cindy Mavety to sprained knee ligaments in the second half. Kristan Robson paced the Pronghorns with 14. Deb Hubbard added 13 and Ann Trenholm 10. …………………………………………………… In game two, Victoria stomped the Pronghorns 81-49 as Lisa Koop scored 20. The Vikes led 37-21 at the half. Deb Hubbard paced the Pronghorns with 13. “Deb played really well,” said Pronghorns coach Dori Rodzinyak (Johnson). “Shannon Frier was-great again. She led our team in rebounding (10) despite a sprained ankle. We had some individuals play really hard, and others who, well… We only had one person who
wanted to shoot the ball, and when only one person is shooting, that’s means five people are defending her.”
In the finals, Victoria defeated U.B.C. 66-52; 51-52; 71-69 (2g-1).
In game one, Victoria prevailed 66-52. “This was just one game,” warned Vikes coach Kathy Shields, whose team led Friday’s contest from start to finish and withstood several rallies by the battling Birds. “The war begins [tonight].” UBC coach Misty Thomas was livid with the officiating. At halftime, with her Birds down 28-23, she marched to the scorers’ table and yelled at the referees: “You’re being paid to do your job – so do your damn job!” The T-Birds battled back from a 10-0 deficit to start the game, drawing within a point early in the second half. But Thomas felt they didn’t get the calls they deserved. “I can’t believe that they can be happy with the job that they did. We didn’t do ourselves any favors tonight, but I think the referees decided the game was over at the seven-, eight- or nine-minute mark and stopped making calls altogether.” Forward Cherie Birtwistle was a dominant force for Victoria inside, hitting 9-14 shots and finishing with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists while UVic guard Lisa Koop added 14 points and backcourt mate Chris Van Aert chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Lisa Bright added 11 points and four rebounds.
In game two, UBC edged Victoria 52-51 as 5th-year forward Adair Duncan canned a 19-footer with eight seconds left on the clock. Duncan, who finished with a game-high 22 points, drained the game- winner after the UVic defence sagged, apparently expecting her to drive to the hoop as she had done very effectively during the night. “I thought: ‘Well, I’ve got the shot, I might as well take it’,” said Duncan, who also hauled down 10 rebounds. “In the past, I’ve never thought that I played that well in this gym. I guess I got that monkey off my back tonight.” UBC led virtually the entire game, extending its margin to as many as 12 points in the second half. But UVic clawed back and took its first lead of the game, at 51-50, on a clutch drive by guard Lisa Koop with 1:03 left. UVic seemed to have the game under control after a UBC miss with 40 seconds left. But instead of running down the shot clock, UVic post Cherie Birtwistle opted for a hook shot which just rimmed out and gave UBC the ball back and allowed Duncan the opportunity to be a hero. The 6-5 Birtwistle hit just 2-13 from the field and finished with five points. Koop led UVic with 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists while forward Cindy Mavety added 11 points and 11 rebounds. Duncan was the only player in double figures for UBC, which out-rebounded the Vikes 43-37. “We dug ourselves such a hole,” said UVic coach Kathy Shields. “And they out-toughed us in the first half. In the second half, we played a lot tougher and responded better to the incredibly physical play out there. That’s how we caught up. And we had our chances at the end. We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot. But we’ll bounce back. We’ll be there.”
In the deciding contest, Christina Van Aert hit two free throws with eight seconds to go in overtime to give Victoria a 71-69 victory. Victoria had led 31-29 at the half but the game was tied at 60 after regulation when U.B.C.’s Adair Duncan hit a three pointer at the buzzer to force the overtime. Van Aert finished with 20 for Victoria, while Lisa Koop added 17. Duncan led U.B.C. with 29 while Lori Kemp added 11. Sophomore guard Lisa Koop took over the game down the stretch as UVic overcame a nine-point second-half deficit to ground the Thunderbirds. Koop forced the overtime by canning a driving, eight-foot turnaround jumper with 16 seconds left to knot the score at 60. In overtime, the speedy Belmont product scored on another drive and a free-throw and added a pair of assists. She’d sat out most of the first half because of foul trouble. She posted the majority of her 17 points and five assists in the second half and overtime as the Vikes staged the rally. “With 15 minutes left in the game, I just told myself: ‘You’ve got to do it. You’ve got to step it up’,” Koop said. “We played a lot better near the end of the game. The crowd was really loud and I think they helped us out a lot.” Victoria trailed 51-43 with 9:38 remaining. But the Vikes turned up their defensive pressure. “Our defence really makes our offence go,” said coach Kathy Shields. “We were having trouble in our half-court offence – they were playing so physical and it was tough for us inside. But our defensive intensity picked up, caused some steals and some easy hoops, and kind of loosened us up. his was one ne of the most satisfying wins I’ve ever been involved with. It was an incredible series – two extremely evenly matched teams. I’m just very, very proud of my team. They played with a lot of guts and character. The turning point was our ability to get into a physical game. We’ve never been very physical with our lightweight bodies. Saturday it appeared the officials decided to let the series become physical. It took a while for the team to adjust but the backbone came out. Sunday was not pretty but it was gritty, very gritty. Lisa Bright started banging around like (UBC forward) Adair Duncan and picked up 13 rebounds. Our foul problems were almost unbelievable but UBC also was into that problem. The emergence of our support players helped us survive.” Van Aert shot 1-8 from the floor but hit 12-16 from the line to finish with a team-high 20 points. She added eight rebounds and four assists, sank four of her free-throws in the pressure-packed overtime session as UVic took control early and never trailed during the five extra minutes. Third-year forward Lisa Bright added 13 points and 13 rebounds. Fifth-year forward Adair Duncan paced UBC with 29 points and 12 rebounds, including a three-pointer at the OT buzzer which reduced the final margin to two points. “Two points difference,” Duncan said. “That’s just one basket. That’s not much. Full credit to Victoria, though. They played really hard and they’re a good team. This [loss] is bitter in a way, but I’m glad we just didn’t give it to them.”
After the season, U.B.C. coach Misty Thomas’ contract is not renewed after six years at the helm. She is replaced by former national team player Deb Huband, a 38-year-old Ottawa native who was assistant at U.B.C. from 1988-91. The three-time all Canadian played at Bishop’s and later became an inductee into Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame after playing 10 seasons with the national team. She was also a three-time CIAU all-star at Bishop’s University in Quebec, was an assistant coach with the T-Birds from 1988-91.
The co-bronze medalist Calgary Dinosaurs: Lisa Bacigalupi; Meagan Koch; Erin McAlister; Kara Haines; Kwynn Blazina; Julie Dayman; Denise Page; Brandi Weisbecker; Stacey Lindsay; Josine Kuipers; Michelle Villeneuve; Joy Anderson; coach Shawnee Harle
The co-bronze medalist Lethbridge Pronghorns: Shannon Frier; Deborah Hubbard; Krista Robson; Anne Trenholm; Kym Foley; Tanya Huggins; Crystal McPherson; Michelle Bews; Jill Carley; Sarah Burton; Janice Gyorkos; Ann Tailfeathers; coach Dori Rodzinyak
The runner-up British Columbia Thunderbirds: Adair Duncan; Wendy Palmer; Lori Kemp; Kimberley Phipps; Trixie Cruz; Erin Fennell; Tiffany Chester; Michelle Davey; Priscilla Reddy; Carmel Burke; Tama Bell; Cheryl Woods; Sarah Longhurst; coach Misty Thomas; SID Don Wells; athletic director Robert Philip
The champion Victoria Vikings: Christina Van Aert; Lisa Koop; Cherie Birtwhistle; Kerri-Anne Butterworth; Lisa Bright; Tamara Carruthers; Cindy Mavety; Claire Knechtel; Lily Grohovac; Kelly Olynyk; Naryn Watt; Rachel Sexton; Kathryn McMath, Geraldine Woods; coach Kathy Shields; SID Judy Joseph; athletic director Wayne MacDonald