| (3) | Regina | 78 | ||||||
| (6) | New Brunswick | 51 | Regina | 86 | ||||
| (2) | Laurentian | 66 | Laurentian | 92 | Laurentian | 74 | ||
| (7) | Bishop’s | 44 | ||||||
| —–LAURENTIAN | ||||||||
| (5) | McMaster | 66 | ||||||
| (4) | Victoria | 63 | McMaster | 64 | Calgary | 65 | ||
| (1) | Calgary | 76 | Calgary | 91 | ||||
| (8) | Toronto | 58 |
In the quarterfinals, held in Toronto, the top-seeded Calgary Dinosaurs dumped the 8th-seeded host Toronto Varsity Blues 76-58 as Veronica VanderSchee scored 31. The Dinosaurs suffered from poor shooting, early foul trouble and an inability to attack inside but still prevailed. “We were a little nervous, not knowing when to shoot and when to pass,” VanderSchee told Canadian Press. “But I think we’ve gotten over the jitters now.” Calgary took an 8-1 lead but the Blues rallied into a two-point lead before the Dinosaurs ripped off a late run to take a 33-26 lead into the lockers. “We were really disappointed in the way our defence started because it just seemed to set the tone,” said coach Donna Rudakas. “We seemed to be just slogging through the whole game and not feeling comfortable.” Rudakas told the Varsity that “we couldn’t hit shit. We wanted to establish the inside game first to allow the outside game to happen. But our outside game never happened, yet our inside game carried us.” Calgary led 33-26 at the half. The Dinosaurs were also hampered by three quick fouls apiece to their starting backcourt Jodi Evans and Cori Blakebrough. Evans came back in the second half and didn’t commit a foul, while scoring 14. Blakebrough finished with 5. “We finally pulled together,” said Evans. The Dinosaurs broke the game open early in the second half. Toronto coach Michelle Belanger said VanderSchee finally got on track. “She came out of nowhere. That was the game. Veronica got going.” Toronto out-rebounded Calgary 37-34. “What we wanted to do was establish an inside game first and wait for our outside game to happen,” said Rudakas. “But our outside game never happened and our inside game carried us today.” Jodi Evans added 14 and Cathy Johnson 13 for Calgary. Denise Scott led Toronto with 21. Joan Stock added 12 and nabbed 13 boards. The Varsity Blues (coached by Belanger, assisted by Jim Henderson, Mary Ann Kowal, Angela Greco and Lynn Polson) also included Heather Marlborough, April McClellan, Susan Barzo, Debbie Labarrie, Sharon Butler, Suzy Dabovic, Martina Stirpe, Christine Brown, Anne Carruthers, Susan Greenspan and Rachel Katocs.
The 5th-seeded wildcard McMaster Marauders defeated the 4th-seeded Victoria Vikings 66-63. The Vikings led by seven at the half but when Kelly Boucher went down with an ankle injury, Victoria’s offence sputtering. “By losing Kelly, I thought we lost a little leadership and that was the key at the end,” said Vikings coach Kathy Shields. “We’ve had trouble all year against the press too and it certainly showed.” Heather McKay led the Marauders with 21. Vicki Harrison added 20, Loren Crich 8, Gloria Tomasevic 7, Tish Jeffrey 4, Kathy Doucette 4 and Barb Sturrock 2, while Jody Wallace, Karen Graham, Kathy Brook and Mara Cianfarro were scoreless. Marauders coch Bob Delaney told the Hamilton Spectator that “the biggest win in the history of women’s basketball at McMaster.” Vicky Harrison hit a trey with 1:35 to play to give the Marauders a 62-60 lead. Sheilds said “that’s what put them over the edge. It deflated us.” Harrison said “I thought the basket was moving on me.” Jenny Sutton paced the Vikings with 13. Shannon Conway added 10, Sandi Begg 10, Michelle Williams 9, Kelly Boucher 4, Adele Fedorak 2, Giselle Gauthier 2, Heather Bohez 2 and Tara Gallaway 2, while Maria Klassen and Charlene Klassema were scoreless. The Vikings (coached by Shields, assisted by Shawnee Harle) also included Kathy Keats and Brenda Cope.
The 3rd-seeded Regina Cougars whipped the 6th-seeded University of New Brunswick Red Bloomers 78-51 as Jackie Moore scored 24 and Deanne Shymr 20. The Cougars led 36-34 at the half and buried the Red Bloomers with a 19-0 run in the second half. The Red Bloomers (coached by Claire Mitton, assisted by Keith Comitz) included Kara Palmer, Jill Jackson, Pauline Lordon, Jennifer Hale, Lynn Christiansen, Jennifer Hale, Tracy Ross, Tracy Lordon, Stacey Robertson, Tammy Polchies and Liane Pierce.
In the last quarterfinal, the Laurentian Lady Vees dumped the Bishop’s Gaiters 66-44 as their full-court pressure eventually frazzled and wore down the Gaiters. “We know that Cynthia Johnston as to play a strong 40 minutes for them to win,” said Voyageurs coach Peter Ennis told the Montreal Gazette. “We had to wear her down to win the game. In the two previous games, our full-court pressure was not that effective. Tonight, it did the trick.” Laurentian built a 32-26 lead at the half as Johnston scored 9 to keep the Gaiters within reach. But they held her scoreless in the second half, while containing the Gaiters to 16. Chantal St. Martin led Laurentian with 16. Shirlene McLean and Martha Sandilands each added 12. Sandra Mullins paced Bishop’s with 10. Johnston added 9. “I was proud of the way we played,” said Bishop’s coach Andrea Blackwell. “This is the first time any of these players have played in the nationals and we showed our inexperience. But defensively, we did a good job.” The Gaiters committed 31 turnovers and shot .400 from the field. The Gaiters (coached by Andrea Blackwell, assisted by Toni Kordic, Carole Miller and Linda Schamer) also included Andrea Lackey, Alice Hartling, Christina van Barneveld, Lesley Buness, Kathy Williams, Penny Begic, Ellen Palmer, Kerry Brock, Nadine Smith and Melanie MacPhee.
In the semis, Calgary blasted McMaster 91-64. Cori Blakebrough said she was determined to demonstrate her form after scoring just six points in the quarterfinals. She delivered 19 points as the Dinosaurs dominated. “This game will help me for the final. That way, I won’t go: ‘aw, I never hit anything’.” The fifth-year guard scored all her points in the first half. “I couldn’t play any worse than I did (Thursday). That’s what I figured. There was nothing, really, to be afraid of because I played my worst gave ever last night. I just didn’t hit my shots.” Nine Dinosaurs hit the scoring column. Sue Jickling notched 16, Veronica VanderSchee 15, Jodi Evans 15, while nabbing 11 boards and being named player of the game. “Everyone came out and played really well,” said Evans. “Everyone was scoring and hitting the boards. We were passing really well and our team defence was there.” The Dinosaurs led by as many as 30 and completely contained the Marauders until final eight minutes, when the reserves relinquished 28 points. Calgary coach Donna Rudakas said her troops were determined to prove their defensive prowess. “After struggling defensively at times against Toronto, the world was out that they couldn’t play defence. And the word was wrong.” Heather McKay led McMaster with 24. Vicky Harrison added 10, Gloria Tomasevic 10, Barb Sturrock 7 and Jodie Wallace 6. Marauders coach Bob Delaney was pleased with his squad’s effort. “Considering what we were playing against, I was very pleased. We’re just No. 69 in a long list of victories for Calgary. We were just outmatched, outclassed. They’re the best team we’ve played this year – by far.” Delaney told the Hamilton Spectator that “it was a good learning experience. They have just got far more talent in their program than we do at this point. We’re no different than the 68 teams they beat before us.” Calgary easily handled McMaster’s traps. “We don’t allow any opportunity to trap,” said Rudakas. “We’re PDG (pretty damn quick).”
In the other semi, Laurentian defeated Regina 92-86 as Nana Robinson scored 17, Shirlene McLean 17, Chantel St. Martin 10 and Carolyn Swords 6. Penny Patterson led Regina with 28. Jackie Moore added 24. The Lady Vees overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half to defeat the Cougars.
In the bronze medal match, McMaster defeated Regina 76-72 after taking an early 17-point lead and surviving and last-minute Cougar rally. Vicky Harrison led the Marauders with 19 points. Gloria Tomasevic scored 20 and grabbed 10 boards. Tish Jeffrey added 13 and Lauren Crish 10, including a pair of insurance free throws with 14 seconds on the clock. Deanne Shmyr hit 5-10 from beyond the arc for Regina. Vivian Kingdon added 19 points, while Penny Patterson scored 14 and grabbed 17 boards. The Marauders led 25-12 after one quarter as Gloria Tomasevic and Vicky Harrison dominated the paint. “We were running a flex, just like Laurentian, and I noticed they were weak denying the baseline screen,” said McMaster coach Bob Delaney. The Marauders led 41-28 at the half but the momentum shifted when Marauder Heather McKay took an elbow to the throat three minutes into the second half. “I think that took it out of us,” said Delaney. McKay was pressed back into service late in the game as Regina narrowed the lead. It had floated between 10-15 points but the perimeter marksmanship of Deanne Shmyr and Vivian Kingdon trimmed the margin t0 5. Clutch free throw shooting by Harrison and Lauren Crich delivered the win to McMaster. “We had a big
disappointment yesterday (in the semis),” said Regina coach Debbie Patterson. “We had every intention of playing in the final. We were nervous at the beginning (of the bronze medal game). We were weren’t getting good flow on offence and only shot 38% in the first half.” Harrison said “we were really down. We didn’t expect to lose that badly.” The Cougars (coached by Debbie Patterson) also included Jackie Moore, Jenny Heeg, Karen Harvey, Elizabeth Kufeldt, Shelley Henry, Jill Hunt, Ronalee Thistlethwaite, Hayley Skinner and Anita Labrie.
The final featured the nation’s two top-ranked teams before 1,000 screaming fans at Toronto’s Varsity Arena. The top-ranked and defending champ Calgary Dinosaurs were experienced, talented and sporting a 69-0 record over a two-year period. The Voyageurs were young and inexperienced but representing a school with a rich tradition. The outcome? A 74-65 Laurentian victory. Laurentian head coach Peter Ennis knew what had to be done in order to win the Bronze Baby – stop national team vet and all-Can Jodi Evans, along with teammates Veronica VanderSchee and Cori Blakebrough. The pair were the nation’s top two scorers, with averages of 25.4 and 20.3 ppg respectively. Both were league and All-Canadian selections. The teams were tied 25-25 at halftime and 27-27 early in the second half before Laurentian guard Shirlene McLean sunk a 3-pointer to put Laurentian ahead. This led to a 14-8 run to open a 39-33 lead, which they never relinquished. At 43-47, Calgary pulled to within three as Evans hit a 3-pointer. However, the Lady Vees extended their lead to 63-51 with under three and half minutes remaining in the game. The Dinosaurs made one final run at the Lady Vees outscoring them 14-5 to draw within 68-65 with 29 seconds left. The Dinosaurs missed a chance to cut the margin to one when Sue Jickling missed the front end of a one-and-one. From that point on, McLean took over, scoring four free throws and assisting on the final basket of the game as the buzzer sounded on the Laurentian win. Calgary’s winning streak was stopped at 69, a bittersweet end to the 90-91 season. They now hold the North American record for consecutive victories but have lost the national championship for the second time in three years. For senior guard Shirlene McLean, who scored a game-high 22 points and was named MVP of the tourney, it was “the perfect ending to her university career.” Calgary’s winning streak of 69 beat the Louisiana Tech record of 54 set in the early 1980s. The Dinosaurs had not lost since March 5-1988, when they were defeated by U. of Manitoba in the national title game. VanderSchee was the only non-Calgarian on the roster. Their toughest match was a one-point over Victoria in November. Laurentian won with tough physical defence, holding Calgary’s Veronica VanderSchee 19, Jodi Evans 19 and Cori Blakebrough 13, after shooting a dismal 3-18 from the floor. Laurentian was led by guard Shirlene McLean, who scored 22, grabbed 9 boards, made three steals and was chosen TR MVP. Nana Robinson added 11, while Carolyn Swords and Chantal St. Martin, each 10. McLean noted that “this feels great. Never in a million years did I think we’d come this far. We played tough physically. That’s our style – we took it to em, basically.” Laurentian forced Calgary into 24 turnovers and held them to .354 from the floor. Meanwhile, Laurentian shot .451. The Lady Vees out-rebounded Calgary 39-34. “I hardly remember losing,” said Blakebrough, who hit just 3-18 shots. “We were behind the whole game. But we weren’t yelling at each other. Nobody was blaming anybody else. We kept thinking: ‘we’re going to pull this out’.” Veronica VanderSchee said that “it’s probably as bad as I imagined it would be. We came out here with the goal of winning the national championship. It wasn’t that the streak was on our minds. To win the nationals, that’s been our goal all year. We haven’t been worrying about anything except that. It’s devastating.” Ennis noted that “to win a national championship is great. To beat a team that’s broken all the records, well, I’m shocked. … We had to make everything difficult for them on offence. We talked about putting pressure on the ball and, at the same time, being aware of where VanderSchee was.” Ennis added that it was nice to win his first national title after 10 trips to the championship. “I think I was due.” Shirlene McLean expressed satisfaction. “I know there’s a lot of people out there who never thought we would beat them and I’m just glad to say that they were wrong.” Calgary coach Donna Rudakas said: “I’m surprised we stayed that close. They seemed to have the momentum all night.”
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Shirlene McLean (Laurentian); Veronica VanderSchee (Calgary); Nana Robinson (Laurentian); Jodi Evans (Calgary); Vicky Harrison (McMaster); and Cori Blakebrough (Calgary)
The bronze medalist McMaster Marauders: Gloria Tomasevic; Kathy Brook; Jodie Wallace; Heather McKay; Lauren Grich; Vicky Harrison; Lauren Critch; Barb Sturrock; Cathy Doucette; Tish Jeffrey; Robyn Lerer; Mara Cianferro; Karen Graham; coach Bob Delaney; assistant Trish Winik; trainer Robert Holmes; athletic director Mary Foster; SID Bill Malley
The silver medalist Calgary Dinosaurs: Veronica VanderSchee; Cori Blakebrough; Jodi Evans; Cathy Johnson; Sue Jickling; Patti Cumming; Linda Orr; Audra Duregon; Shawn Roscoe; Melita Bishop; Lisa Fortems; Lenise Levesque; coach Donna Rudakas; assistant Jenny Woods; trainer Heidi Von Schoenig; athletic director Dr. Robert Corran; SID Jack Neumann
The champion Laurentian Lady Voyageurs: Jennifer Adams; Susan Foy; Dianne Norman; Andreana Robinson; Chantal St. Martin; Susan Stewart; Carolyn Swords; Louise Boulanger; Shirlene McLean; Tracy Phelps; Martha Sandilands; Christine Stapleton; Tricia Stewart; Nana Robinson; coach Peter Ennis; assistant Angie MacDonald; trainer Nicole Boychuk; athletic director Peter Ennis; SID Stu Duncan