| (3) | Calgary | 65 | ||||||
| (6) | New Brunswick | 68 | New Brunswick | 61 | ||||
| (7) | Laurentian | 64 | Victoria | 79 | Victoria | 61 | ||
| (2) | Victoria | 71 | ||||||
| —–VICTORIA | ||||||||
| (5) | Winnipeg | 56 | ||||||
| (4) | Concordia | 51 | Winnipeg | 60 | Bishop’s | 59 | ||
| (1) | Bishop’s | 68 | Bishop’s | 68 | ||||
| (8) | Guelph | 30 |
An enormous controversy erupted heading into the eight-team tournament at Guelph because of the wild-card selections. Previously unbeaten Dalhousie (22-1) had to settle for third place in the Atlantic playoffs after losing in the semis to St. Mary’s. But the Tigers weren’t selected for the national tourney, prompting howls of protest. Concordia Stingers, who finished second in Quebec, were selected even though the Tigers had defeated the Stingers 70-64 at a Christmas tournament. The wild cards were selected by a committee comprised of a representative from each conference and the CIAU program coordinator. The teams were seeded, with seedings 1-5 based on previous year’s results. “They feel that against like competition, Concordia has done better than us,” Tigers coach Carolyn Savoy told the Dalhousie Gazette. “We have appealed this decision. … It seems to be the same old story. The Atlantic Conference teams are weak and don’t deserve to be put in the same class as other almighty Ontario or Quebec teams. The Atlantic Conference doesn’t mean a damn. When a team with such an impressive regular season-and national record is turned away in favor of a lower ranked team, something is wrong! … I guess even if you beat a
team, you’re still not considered better than them!”
In the quarterfinals, held at the Guelph Athletics Centre, 6th-seeded New Brunswick stunned 3rd-seeded Calgary 68-65. The wildcard Dinosaurs were hobbled by an ankle injury to national player of year Janis Paskevich, which she’d suffered in the final game of the Canada West playoffs against Victoria. Rookie coach Coleen Dufresne was delighted with the win. “We knew that if we could take away their inside game, their strength, we had a chance. We did, and executed well elsewhere, and that was it.” Calgary had a late run in the second half but Paskevich was never really a factor. The Varsity Reds iced it on a last-minute steal by Ann McClellan, who scored 28. Joanne MacLean added 22 and Laura Sanders 9. Julie Hendrix led Calgary with 16. Janis Paskevitch added 15. Calgary led by 14 in the first half but the Red Bloomers rallied to within 7 at the half and then exploded with a 16-2 run to open the second half as their full-court pressure yielded enormous dividends.
The 2nd-seeded Victoria Vikings clipped Ontario champ and 7th-seeded Laurentian 71-64. The defending champions broke to a 20-0 lead, breezed to a 40-18 halftime lead and appeared to be in total control. But the Voyageurs gamely rallied back with a 46-24 run during a 17–minute stretch in the second half to tie the game at 64 with two minutes to play before succumbing. Victoria coach Kathy Shields later said “maybe this will convince us that there are no easy games in the nationals.” Shelley Godfrey led the Vikettes with 20. Laurentian coach Peter Ennis noted that the Voyageurs best basketball is “a couple of years down the road.” Debbie Knowles led the Lady Vees with 21 points.
The top-seeded Bishop’s Gaiters whipped host and 8th-seeded Guelph Gryphons 68-30 before 1100 fans hoping the local could captured their seventh homecourt win in eight starts. The Voyageurs out-rebounded Guelph 50-11, led 33-18 at the half and coasted to the easy win as Andrea Blackwell scored 14 points. Karen Grisewood led Guelph with 10. “I thought we played fairly good defence,” said Guelph coach Karen Lee. “But we made a lot of offensive mistakes and against a team as powerful as that one, there was no way we could stay with them.”
In the last quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Winnipeg Wesmen dumped the 4th-seeded wild card Concordia Stingers 56-51 as Diana Quartel put on a show in the paint. She finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Beth Mansfield led Concordia with 18. Winnipeg led 33-28 at the half and out-rebounded Concordia 35-23. “It was a must win and assures us of a championship spot,” said Kendall.
In the semis, heavily favoured Bishop’s defeated Winnipeg 68-60. The Gaiters quickly fell behind 22-8 after seven minutes but trimmed the margin to 32-27 at the half. Bishop’s exploded for 41 points in the second half. The quickness of Donna Posnick and Bea Dyce and inside game of Quartel gave Bishop’s fits early but their experience proved the difference in the end. Andrea Blackwell led Bishop’s with 16 points and 10 boards. Denise Dignard added 14 points. Cheryl Kryluk led Winnipeg with 14, while Karen Ridd and Posnick each tossed in 12. Quartel scored 10 and grabbed 9 rebounds. “They played us tough and tomorrow, it won’t be any easier,” said Bishop’s coach Wayne Hussey. Winnipeg coach Tom Kendall noted “they were supposed to blow us out of here tonight. … what we did, was just exceptional.” Bishop’s was comprised of eight players on either the national senior or junior team.
In the other semi, the surprising Red Bloomers looked like they were prepared to pull off another upset as they led Victoria for most of the first half but the poised Vikings took control and cruised to a 79-61 win behind Luanne Hebb’s 25 points and 11 rebounds. Shelley Godfrey added 19. Ann McClellan led the Red Bloomers with 19. New Brunswick coach Coleen Dufresne couldn’t complain about her team’s play. “I thought we played a good game most of the way. Vic has a tremendous team, you know.”
In the bronze medal match, Winnipeg defeated New Brunswick 59-52 as Diana Quartel scored 22 and the Wesmenettes dominated the paint. Joanne MacLean led the Red Bloomers with 16. Carolyn Gammon added 14. The Red Bloomers (coached by Coleen Dufresne) also included Ann McClellan, Jill Jeffrey, Sandra Hill, Lynn Estabrooks, Carla Goude, Caroline Hamilton-Irving, Sharon Keays-Wade, Marleigh Moran, Lesley Nason, Carla Ryder, Laura Sanders and Ann Steeves.
In the final, the Victoria Vikings defended their title by edging Bishop’s 61-59. The Vikings entered as the underdogs before the crowd of 1700 but their experience and poise proved the difference. They took an early lead and appeared in control for most of the contest, maintaining a 5-7-point margin for most of the first half before Bishop’s rallied to within 36-33 at the break. But Victoria sprinted to a 44-35 lead early in the second half. The Lady Gaiters rallied back with some great outside shooting to cut the margin to 53-52 with five minutes to play. The teams traded leads down the stretch, before Luanne Hebb gave the Vikings a three-point lead on a pair of free throws with 48 seconds to play. Andrea Blackwell cut the margin to one with 16 seconds to play when she drilled an eight-footer. Victoria hit a free throw to build the lead to two with second seconds to play. Shelley Godfrey stole the in-bounds pass from Theresa Grant at centre court to ice the victory for the Victoria. Selected tourney MVP, Godfrey finished with 12 points and eight assists. Luanne Hebb paced the Vikings with 15. Tracey McAra added 13, Sandy Lewis 13, Donna Digby 4 and Leslie Godfrey 4, while Jane Boe, Janine Prince, Cindy Smith, Sue Shaw, Jamie Mackie and Shawnee Harle were scoreless. Blackwell led Bishop’s with 16. Lynn Polson added 10, Connie Classen 10, Karen McComber 10, Wendy Verrechia 5, Denis Dignard 4 and Teresa Grant 4, while Sharon Tolan, Bonnie MacNaughton, Marie Bobyn and Sue Hyland were scoreless. “Shelley made a super play on that sure,” Vikings coach Kathy Shields told Canadian Press. “Shelley had been making plays like that all year. …They had been ranked ahead of us all year. We really wanted a shot at them. It feels great to beat a team as good as they are. … Shelley played a terrific game and her cool play really helped us in the end. It’s hard to say whether this one was sweeter than the last. But it sure feels good.” Bishop’s coach Wayne Hussey noted that “the world does not begin and end with basketball games. Of course, it hurts to lose. But Victoria gave it a tremendous effort, and we’ll just have to try and get here again.”
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Shelley Godfrey (Victoria); Andrea Blackwell (Bishop’s); Luanne Hebb (Victoria); Diana Quartel (Winnipeg) and Joanne MacLean (New Brunswick).
The bronze medalist Winnipeg Wesmenettes: Donna Posnick; Karen Ridd; Janet McMahon; Sandra Mooibroek; Diana Quartel; Bea Dyce; Cheryl Kryluk; Debbie Dudar; Kathy Barr; Lynne Barry; Carol Beyak; Val Pankratz; coach Tom Kendall; assistant Gail Winston; athletic director Aubrey Ferris; manager Mona Morrison
The silver medalist Bishop’s Gaiters:
Andrea Blackwell; Denise Dignard; Sue Hylland; Connie Classen; Bonnie
McNaughton; Wendy Verrechia; Theresa Grant; Karen McComber; Lynn Polson; Sharon
Tolan; Maria Bobyn; coach Wayne Hussey
The champion University of
Victoria Vikings: Luanne Hebb; Sandy Lewis; Tracie McAra; Sue Shaw; Leslie
Godfrey; Shelley Godfrey; Donna Digby; Cindy Smith; Jamie Mackie; Janine
Prince; Jane Boe; Shawnee Harle; coach Kathy Shields