| (3) | Manitoba | 82 | ||||||
| (6) | Laurentian | 62 | Manitoba | 60 | ||||
| (2) | Victoria | 85 | Victoria | 59 | Manitoba | 61 | ||
| (7) | McGill | 52 | ||||||
| —–MANITOBA | ||||||||
| (5) | U.P.E.I. | 66 | ||||||
| (4) | Toronto | 59 | U.P.E.I. | 60 | Calgary | 55 | ||
| (1) | Calgary | 65 | Calgary | 73 | ||||
| (8) | Lethbridge | 59 |
In the quarterfinals, the 3rd-seeded Manitoba Bisons crushed defending champ and 6th-seeded Laurentian Voyageurs 82-62 as Kim Bertholet scored 29. The Bisonettes led 48-32 at the half. Sandy Stevenson led the Voyageurs with 18.
The 5th-seeded University of Prince Edward Island Panthers dumped the 4th-seeded University of Toronto Varsity Blues 66-59 as Stephanie Smith scored 17. “We opened up flat against P.E.L,” coach Michele Belanger. “It was too soon after the OWIAA tournament. We really had no time to prepare. … The kids were tired and nervous. They just couldn’t get into the game.” Mary Ann Kowal and rookie Sue Barzo led the Blues scoring with 15 apiece. Samantha Reed added 12. “We only shot 35 from the field as a team,” said Belanger. “P.E.I. shot 32 and won. They were able to take us out of our momentum. And it worked. We were really confused. As a coaching staff we were happy to be up by six points at the half because our playing was just terrible.”
The top-seeded Calgary Dinosaurs defeated 8th-seeded host Lethbridge, coached by Trix Baker, 65-59.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Victoria Vikings thrashed the 6th-seeded McGill Martlets 85-52 as Karla Karch scored 22, Kelly Boucher 19, Sandy Espeseth 15, Jenny Sutton 13, Shannon Conway 7, Sandi Begg 4, Joanne Nutini 3 and Rini Sladecek 2, while Adele Fedorak and Sue Loney were scoreless. Helene Cowan led McGill with 15, all in the first half, including a trio from beyond the arc. Julie Rousseau added 13, Nat Melillo 9, Alexandra Franco 6, Tina Fasone 5, Beth Armstrong 2 and Leah Hayman 2, while Mirjana Jurcic, Mireille Beland and Leslie Fellows were scoreless. “We lived by the long bomb in the first half and then we died,” McGill assistant Linda MacPherson told the Montreal Gazette. “We were only down 38-31 at the half but they did a pretty good job of shutting us down in the second half.”
In the semis, 3rd-seeded Manitoba nipped 2nd-seeded Victoria 60-59 as Ronn Peyton hit two free throws with two seconds to go to seal the victory. Peyton had come in off the bench to replace Carol Ploen, who injured her elbow on the play when she was fouled. Peyton told the Calgary Herald that “I was really nervous – I didn’t believe it. My assistant coach said, be prepared to shoot the foul shot. I was hoping: ‘Carol, get up, get up’. I went in and did it.” The Vikings played without guard Sandy Espeseth who was out with a leg injury, while guard Karla Karch was slowed with an injured foot. Vikes coach Kathy Shields said “I can’t say enough about how courageous the team was because those are two very tough breaks. I’m disappointed because it was so close.” Kim Bertholet led the Bisonettes with 26. Jennifer George added 10, Cheryl McCombe 9, Sandy Ronald 8, Carol Ploen 6, Ronn Peyton 3 and Heather Adams 2, while Donna Whitmore and Charles Mash were scoreless. Joanne Nutini led the Vikings with 15. Karch added 14, Kelly Boucher 9, Sandi Begg 8, Rini Sladecek 4, Jenny Sutton 3, Sandy Espeseth 2, Shannon Conway 2 and Adele Fedorak 2, while Sue Loney was scoreless.
In the other semi, top-seeded Calgary dumped 5th-seeded U.P.E.I. 73-60 as Veronica Vanderschee scored 24. Dino Karen Degner told the Calgary Herald that “it feels great. It’s the best experience of my life so far. … We’ve never played a team like that before. They’re not very tall. They’re quick and they don’t have any systematic offence. They were hard to check.” Calgary led 38-27 at the half. Stephanie Smith led the Panthers with 11.
In the bronze medal match, Victoria defeated U.P.E.I. 60-55 as Joanne Nutini scored 17, Kelly Boucher 14, Sandi Begg 13, Rini Sladecek 6, Jenny Sutton 6, Shannon Conway 2 and Adele Fedorak 2, while Sue Loney was scoreless. Bahadursingh paced the Panthers with 14. Tracey Bowie added 10, Smith 10, Knickle 8, MacEacher 7, Enman 4 and Nichols 2, while Jones and Townsend were scoreless.
In the final, third-seeded Manitoba defeated top-seeded Calgary 61-55 before 900 fans. The Bisons jumped out by seven, before Calgary’s Veronica VanderSchee keyed a Calgary rally with 7 offensive rebounds. Calgary led 31-29 on a three pointer by Cori Blakebrough. The Dinosaurs extended their lead to 40-31 at the half. Calgary maintained a lead through first 10 minutes of 2nd half but then Sandi Ronald and Kim Bertholet caught fire, keying an 8-3 run as Manitoba took four-point lead with two minutes to go. Kim Bertholet led the Bisons with 21 points. Jennifer George added 16 pots and Sandie Ronald 14. Veronica VanderSchee paced Calgary with 20. Jodi Evans added 10 and Cori Blakebrough 10. CIAU coach of year Coleen Dufresne said the key was the second half defence. “We lost patience with our offence and for a while they were trying to create a little too much. Defensively, we were taking chances, trying to make up for a few things. Once we got back to basics on defence, we knew our offence would carry us. Defensively, we did the job in the second half.” Calgary coach Donna Rudakas said Manitoba’s experience was the difference.
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Kim Bertholet (Manitoba); Jodi Evans (Calgary); Karen Degner (Calgary);
Joanne Nutini (Victoria); Shawna Molcak (Lethbridge); and Jennifer George (Manitoba).
The bronze medalist Victoria Vikings: Karla Karch; Sandy Espeseth; Kelly Boucher; Joanne Nutini; Rini Sladecek; Jenny Sutton; Shannon Conway; Sandy Begg; Adele Fedorak; Sue Loney; Lynn Montgomery; Renata Agostinis; coach Kathy Shields; assistant Dori Rodzinyak; SID Mona Chiz; athletic director Ken Shields; SID Mona Ghiz
The silver medalist Calgary Dinosaurs: Veronica VanderSchee; Jodi Evans; Cori Blakebrough; Karen Degner; Lisa Schirok; Sue Jickling; Claire Mitenko; Laura Ryckman; Denise McPhee; Patti Cumming; Linda Orr; Sharon Auld; Cathy Johnson; coach Donna Rudakas; assistant Debbie Patterson; athletic director Dr. Robert Corran; SID Jack Neumann
The champion Manitoba Bisons: Kim Bertholet; Jennifer George; Carol Ploen; Cheryl McCombe; Sandie Ronald; Ronn Peyton; Heather McAdam; Donna Whitmore; Suzanne Butler; Tracey Shields; Charlene Mash; Diane Butler; coach Coleen Dufresne; assistant Patti Phillips; strength coach Terry Hadlow; therapist Joe Glenn