| (1) | Winnipeg | 86 | ||||||
| (8) | Concordia | 72 | Winnipeg | 75 | ||||
| (4) | Manitoba | 88 | Manitoba | 55 | Winnipeg | 90 | ||
| (5) | U.B.C. | 74 | ||||||
| —–WINNIPEG | ||||||||
| (2) | Toronto | 74 | ||||||
| (7) | New Brunswick | 44 | Toronto | 69 | Toronto | 76 | ||
| (3) | Laurentian | 77 | Laurentian | 60 | ||||
| (6) | Calgary | 69 |
In the quarterfinals, held in Calgary, the 4th-seeded Manitoba Bisons dumped the 5th-seeded U.B.C. Thunderbirds 88-74 as Anne Schimnowski and Terrilee Johannesson each scored 24. The T’Birds were led by Elissa Beckett 16 and Lisa Nickle 13. UBC coach Misty Thomas said her troops comeback win over Victoria in the Canada West finals may have “got in the way. “That might have been the problem. We had difficulty getting focused in practice this week. … To be fair, the team did accomplish its goal of winning Canada West. Hopefully, the young players would learn from the experience and be back here (the nationals) next year.”
The top-seeded Winnipeg Wesmen rather their unbeaten streak to 71 games by thrashing eighth-seed Concordia 86-72. The Wesmen led by only 43-36 at the half but pulled away in the final 12 minutes as Pam Flick and Sandra Carroll took command. Flick, born in Brandon and a one-time volleyball player at North Dakota, scored 20 and grabbed 12 boards, while Carroll, an academic all-Canadian, scored 25. Andrea Hutchens, a 5-11 guard from Newfoundland and also an all-Canadian notched 19. Tanya Guitman led Concordia with 20. Lisa Benjamin added 16. Coach Tom Kendall thought the unbeaten streak prevented his troops from losing their focus. “If we hadn’t had the streak to give us a focus, we might have got complacent and been upset somewhere along the line.” Kendall added that the Stingers played a “great game. They prepared for us very, very well.”
The 2nd-seeded Toronto Varsity Blues thrashed the 7th-seeded New Brunswick Red Bloomers 74-44. “I think we did a pretty good tonight,” said coach Michelle Belanger, although she claimed the altitude hurt her Blues. “We seemed to get fatigued easily. But hopefully, that’s out of our system now.” Justine Ellison paced Toronto with 21. Kimberley Johnson added 19. Krista Foreman topped New Brunswick with 12. Belanger noted that she thought the altitude – Calgary sits about 3,400 feet above sea level – hurt her players. Red Bloomers coach Pauline Lordon told the Brunswickan her troops were “tense and stiff.”
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Laurentian Voyageurs dumped the host and 6th-seeded Calgary Dinosaurs 77-69. But Calgary coach Donna Rudakas was proud of her troops. “They’re young kids. We were down twice by 10 and came back and played.” Calgary led for most of the first half until Laurentian rallied late to take a 38-33 lead into the lockers. Laurentian pulled ahead by 10 in the second half and held on for the win. Carolyn Swords paced Laurentian with 26. Joy McNichol added 25. Marijana Milicevic led Calgary with 17. Meagan Koch and Lisa Bacigalupi each added 17, while point guard Erin McAlister was “spectacular,” said Rudakas.
In the semis, Toronto defeated Laurentian 69-60 in overtime. The Blues rallied from a double-digit first-half deficit to edge the Voyageurs. The teams had split their games during the regular season and it appeared the Voyageurs would win the tiebreaker, taking a 34-23 lead at the half. But Toronto rallied to force overtime and took command in the extra session. Sharon Butler led Toronto with 23. Joy McNicol led Laurentian with 28. Blues coach Michelle Belanger expressed relief. “I’m so excited (about making a final). I was quite concerned there for a while. It looked like lights out for us.”
In the other semi, Winnipeg dumped crosstown rival Manitoba 75-55. Coach Tom Kendall was disappointed that his Wesmen were again playing the Bisons. “Emotionally, it was a very draining game for the players. We’d beaten Manitoba 10 times already, we thought it was over. The players weren’t too pleased about having to play them. … I want to make sure, before I leave the gym tonight, that there’s not some rule that says we have to play them one more time.” Winnipeg took command in the second half, breaking open a tight game as Sandra Carroll hit a series of tough buckets. Carroll finished with 23 points. Andrea Hutchens added 17. Victoria Neufeld led Manitoba with 21. Terrilee Johannesson added 16. Manitoba coach Coleen Dufresne expressed pride in her Bisons, having held Winnipeg to one of its lowest offensive outputs of the season.
In the bronze medal match, Manitoba defeated Laurentian 72-64. The Voyageurs led 32-27 at the half.
In the final, Winnipeg stretched its unbeaten streak to 73 games as it thrashed Toronto 90-76. Both teams looked nervous early and Toronto was ahead 43-41 at the half but the Wesmen stormed back in the second half as tourney MVP Sandra Carroll settled in. She scored 37, including 30 in the second half. St. John’s, Newfoundland native Andrea Hutchens added 29 points and 9 rebounds. Carroll later told Canadian Press that “I just tried not to think too much about what happened in the first half. I was bit frustrated. I thought the rest of the team played well and Hutch had a really good half and kept us in when I wasn’t doing too well. In the second half, I stepped up and did my role.” Carroll, who’d captured the NAN Copp Trophy as CIAU player of the year for the second consecutive season, added that “for the season to end like this, with the year we’ve had, is just awesome. We already had the streak, anything added to that was a plus. What we wanted the national championship.” Hutchens said the slow start was typical. “That’s usually the way we start games. They’re usually close in the first half because we like to press teams, and then in the second half we tire them out and we make them make mistakes and we take over.” Toronto coach Michell Belanger said Carroll proved the difference. “I don’t know what she did at the half but she sure came out on fire. I’m happy with my team. We made a game of it for quite a while.” Wesmen coach Tom Kendall said Carroll’s mental toughness and ability “to raise the game when she needs to” made her a clutch player. Kendall was taken to Calgary Foothills Hospital after the game after complaining of chest pains. He was later released. Pam Flick added 10 points for Winnipeg. Elizabeth Hart led Toronto with 15. Justine Ellison added 14. Only one Wesmen player was a senior and that was Larisa Waschuk, who noted that she felt “very satisfied. We haven’t lost in two years and I just can’t believe we’re the best team in the country.” The tourney was also marked by a ceremony honoring the fabled Edmonton Grads, who had a 76-game unbeaten streak between 1915-40. The 1,780 fans gave them a standing ovation and players from all eight teams streamed past the Grads asking for autographs. “I didn’t expect this. It’s very exciting,” said Margaret Vasheresse, the long-serving Grad, who played from 1926 to 1936.
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Sandra Carroll (Winnipeg); Andrea Hutchens (Winnipeg); Justine Ellison (Toronto); Sharon Butler (Toronto); Joy McNichol (Laurentian); and Terri-Lee Johannesson (Manitoba)
The bronze medalist Manitoba Bisons: Terri-Lee Johannesson; Lorissa Crellin; Kyla Koskie; Katherine Pelton; Victoria Neufeld; Charlene Mash-Hadlow; Stacy Yuel;
The silver medalist Toronto Varsity Blues: Justine Ellison; Laurel Johnson; Laurie Pinkney; Sharon Butler; Kimberly Johnson; Heather Marlborough; Rachel Dei-Amoah; Elizabeth Hart; Susy Dabovic; Susan Brown; Agnes Cserhati; Lori Ryan; Lisa Foot; Yvonne Spiczynski; Kate Vrancart; Elina Ashkinazi; coach Michele Belanger; SID Paul Carson; athletic director Ian McGregor
The champion Winnipeg Wesmen: Sandra Carroll; Andrea Hutchens; Pam Flick; Andrea Pales; Jody Rock; Sandy Corby; Heidi Rowley; Marnie Nechwediuk; Nichole Jonker; Natalie McVicar; Tracey Peter; Larisa Waschuk; coach Tom Kendall; assistant Keith Pruden; assistant Gail Kendall; assistant Carla Lenz; manager Jennifer How; trainer Patti Burak