| (3) | Manitoba | 75 | ||||||
| (6) | McGill | 61 | Manitoba | 56 | ||||
| (2) | Laurentian | 76 | Laurentian | 54 | Manitoba | 61 | ||
| (7) | Memorial | 56 | ||||||
| —–WINNIPEG | ||||||||
| (5) | Toronto | 72 | ||||||
| (4) | Victoria | 51 | Toronto | 75 | Winnipeg | 72 | ||
| (1) | Winnipeg | 90 | Winnipeg | 79 | ||||
| (8) | Lakehead | 72 |
In the quarterfinals, held in Thunder Bay, the 3rd-seeded Manitoba Bisons clipped the 6th-seeded McGill Martlets 75-61. The Martlets turned the ball over 30 times and hit 3-8 from the line, while the Bisons committed just 17 turnovers and were 19-27 from the line. “We were very tentative against their full-court pressure and we really hurt ourselves because of it,” said McGill coach Lisen Moore.
The 2nd-seeded Laurentian Voyageurs whipped the 7th-seeded Memorial Sea-Hawks 76-56. The Voyageurs were projected to give top-ranked Winnipeg a major run. Although they’d lost to the Wesmen 73-69 in October, they’d since re-added Sue Stewart, national player of the year two seasons earlier, to the line-up. She’d been playing professionally in Germany but rejoined Laurentian during Christmas. “Getting Stewart back is going to make a big difference,” said Winnipeg coach Tom Kendall. “I think they’re much closer to us with her in the line-up.”
The 5th-seeded Toronto Varsity Blues whipped the 4th-seeded Victoria Vikings 72-51 as Tina Ellison scored 20. Kerri-Anne Butterworth led the Vikings with 8. Lisa Koop added 8, Cherie Birtwhistle 8 and Tamara Caruthers 8. The Varsity Blues outrebounded Victoria 43-27.
In the last quarterfinal, the top-seeded Winnipeg Wesmen crushed the 8th-seeded Lakehead Nor’Westers 90-72. Lakehead exploded to an 18-5 lead as the Wesmen struggle don offence. But Winnipeg rallied to a 36-30 lead and then Sandra Carroll took command, scoring six straight. Andrea Hutchen added a trey and it was 45-30 within three minutes of the start of the second frame. The Lady Nor’Westers never recovered. Carroll finished 31 points. Michelle Black led Lakehead with 23. Black that the early lead was intimidating. “I was shaking out there. I couldn’t believe it.”
In the semis, 3rd-seeded Manitoba edged 2nd-seeded Laurentian 56-54 as Terri-Lee Johannesson hit the winner at the buzzer. “We were down by eight with four minutes to go and we didn’t let them score again,” said Bisons coach Coleen Dufresne. “We went to man-to-man, full-court and we did a great job on them.” Dufresne said Johannesson sat out the first half after taking three fouls in the first four minutes but fourth-year guard Stacy Yuel picked up the leadership role.
In the other semi, top-seeded Winnipeg nipped 4th-seeded Toronto 79-75 as national player of the year Sandra Carroll scored 32. Wesmen assistant coach Keith Pruden said “it’s the old story of everyone is ready to play
No. 1. Toronto played very tough defence but we kept hitting tough shots. It was our experience that helped hold them off to the end of the game.” Winnipeg led 40-39 at the half. Andrea Hutchens and Heather Corby each added 10 for the Wesmenettes. Corby also nabbed 9 boards.
In the bronze medal game, the 2nd-seeded Laurentian Lady Vees smacked their archrivals, the 3rd-seeded Toronto Varsity Blues 76-47. Laurentian’s Joy McNichol drained 22 points in the first half alone and led all scorers with 29. “Our mentality was it’s our last game. Let’s just relax and have fun,” McNichol told Canadian Press. Liz Hart led the Blues with 13.
The final featured a whole lot of history and a measure of revenge. Manitoba had ended Winnipeg’s 88-game winning streak in December. The Wesmen had tied U.C.L.A.’s remarkable run of the mid 1970s but fell 64-62 when the Bisons kept the Wesmen from getting their transition game going, controlled the boards and blanketed Carroll, the Nan Copp Trophy winner as national player of the year. Two weeks later, Winnipeg avenged that loss with a 94-47 victory. But as Winnipeg coach Tom Kendall noted, strange things happen when the two play each other. “They know us better than anyone else does. That familiarity makes them the most dangerous team for us to play.” Carroll was dominated in the final, scoring 24. The teams were tied at 16 when Winnipeg exploded for a mini-spurt to take a 29-20 lead and then stretched their margin to 42-28 at the half. Carroll hit a series of tough buckets as Winnipeg moved ahead 51-32 in the second half before Manitoba rallied with a 10-1 run. With the score 63-55 and momentum seeming to favor the Bisons, Carroll drained her fourth trey of the night to quell the rally. “It’s what we were looking forward to all year,” Carroll said after the victory. Manitoba point guard Terri-Lee Johannesson lamented the Bisons “tendency to give up against them.” She finished with 16 points. Bisons coach Coleen Dufresne was hoping for a second streak-breaking win up until the end. “I thought we were going to do it,” Dufresne said. “A few bounces and we might have, but, those are the breaks. We’re young and we’re ahead of schedule with our players. We can in third and we went home second.” Winnipeg coach Tom Kendall said “this is so exciting. This was the best crowd I’ve ever seen. We’re going home tonight and then we’ll celebrate. It’ll be a party.” The win helped ease the memory of Manitoba having snapped Winnipeg’s 88-game winning streak. “Fortunately, we came out on the right side,” said Carroll. “It’s what we were looking forward to all year. Hutchens, who scored 16, added that “it never gets tiring. And we wanted to play them.”
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Sandra Carroll (Winnipeg); Andrea Hutchens (Winnipeg);
The bronze medalist Laurentian Voyageurs: Joy McNichol; Dianne Norman; Susan Stewart; Shelley Dewar; Tracy Anderson; Heather Malcolm; Sharon Sliwinski; Julien Thompson; Michele Jurczenko; Sarah Kieffer; Tanya Tatti; Melanie Rathbone; Katie Malone; Linda Carriere; Janaya Stephens; coach Peter Ennis; SID Allan Craighead; athletic director Stu Duncan
The silver medalist Manitoba Bisons: Terri-Lee Johannesson; Victoria Neufield; Marjorie Kelly; Stacy Yuel; Glenda Clark; Charlene Mash-Hadlow; Katherine Pelton; Kyla Koskie; Robin Olson; Laurian Palmer; Lorissa Crellin; Jana Taylor; coach Coleen Dufresne
The champion Winnipeg Wesmen: Sandra Carroll; Andrea Hutchens; Pam Flick; Jody Rock; Andrea Pale; Sandy Corby; Heidi Rowley; Marnie Nechwediuk; Nichole Jonker; Natalie McVicar; Heather Corby; Lara Asplin; Lynette Lafreniere; Tracey Peter; Anna Weber; coach Tom Kendall; assistant Gail Kendell; assistant Craig Kennedy; assistant Carla Lenz; doctor Mitch Cosman; doctor Neil Craton; therapist Ben Trunzo; manager Jennifer How; trainer Keri Knight