REGULAR SEASON
| Manitoba | 12-4 | 23-12 | Coleen Dufresne | ||
| Winnipeg | 11-5 | 26-12 | Tom Kendall | ||
| Lakehead | 10-6 | 18-15 | Stu Julius | ||
| Regina | 6-10 | Sheila Beckie | |||
| Brandon | 1-15 | Norm Vickery | |||
For one year, the league switched to a single-game knockout tournament to determine its champion.
Playoff non-qualifier Brandon Bobcats: Jennifer Saxton, Sandy Little, Sara Conlin, Colleen Blimke, Marie Rohleder, Sue Kaluzniak, Karen Shier, Britta Mueller, Kelly Couling, Sandra Hughes, Angela Foster, coach Norm Vickery, assistant Berrie Brown
In one semi, Lakehead snapped Winnipeg’s string of 12 titles by defeating the Wesmenettes 77-66. Six weeks earlier, Winnipeg had been ranked the fourth best team in the country. Lakehead was ahead by as much as 20, but Winnipeg chipped away at the margin and cut it six in the fourth quarter, led by all-Canadian Beth Cochran, who scored 32. But Lakehead hung on. Winnipeg coach Tom Kendall said Lakehead played an excellent game “They took it us on offence and they us cold defensively. …It’s no good playing one strong half. We have to come prepared to play the whole game.”
In the other semi, Manitoba defeated Regina 71-60 (71-62, according to the Regina Leader-Post) in overtime, after forcing the extra session as Esther Johnson blocked four shots in the final 10 seconds of play to protect a 54-54 tie. Johnson hit four points in overtime and finished with 21. Christine Penner 19, as did Jennifer Finch. Coach Coleen Dufresne noted that “Regina’s beaten us three times this season and we have never been able to blow them away. They’ve been a monkey on our backs all year.” Sophomore guard Shari Wilson led Regina with 20 points. Annette Pfeiffer added 12. Regina coach Sheila Beckie noted that “Shari was her best tonight. She’s suffered from foul trouble during the season and she’s been injured but tonight she showed what she could do. Still, I think we should have won. We were certainly in a position to win. We just couldn’t pull it off.” Beckie told the Regina Leader-Post that “Manitoba scored three straight baskets to open the overtime. We had to foul to get the ball back and Manitoba scored 11 on its 17 points in overtime from the free throw line. … We didn’t start very well. We didn’t shoot very well. I think the girls were a bit uptight. We missed some easy baskets and were down by 12 at one point in the first half. But we dominated the second half. We had the momentum the last five minutes.” Manitoba led 31-28 at the half.
In the bronze medal match, Winnipeg stomped Regina 78-51 as Beth Cochran scored 21, Cathy Holtman 18 and Jill Mathez 14. The Wesmen led 36-28 at the half. Annette Pfeiffer paced the Cougars with 15. Shari Wilson added 13. Cougars coach Sheila Beckie told the Regina Leader-Post that “Winnipeg was really upset with losing the night before. They were out to redeem themselves.” The Cougars (coached by Sheila Beckie) also included Leslie Treen, Mary Lou Tourigny, Karen Proud, Morgan Kyle, Jennifer Boso, Teresa Pontius, Debbie Weedmark, Rhonda Eberts, Penny Patterson, Patricia Reimer and Anna Marie Behm.
In the final, Karen Brown scored 24 and Monica Burchert 16 as Lakehead thumped Manitoba 77-60. Ester Johnson scored 16 for the Bisonettes. Lakehead coach Stu Julius noted that “we worked on the press for the past two weeks and the girls seemed to like it. And tonight, it worked just the way we hoped it would. We were pretty sure we could beat them if we could really put on the pressure and never let up and that’s what happened. They don’t handle pressure too well.”
The bronze medalist Winnipeg Wesmenettes: Beth Cochran; Cathy Holtman; Jill Mathez; Angela Epp (Mol); Marla Hildebrand; Deb Belinsky; Lisa Mandziak; Arlene Retkau; Sindy Janzen; Lori Reid; coach Tom Kendall; assistant Gail Winston; assistant Sheldon Stashko
The runner-up Manitoba Bisons: Esther Johnson; Jennifer Finch; Christine Penner; Kim Bertholet; Shannon Jonasson; Sandra Throndson; Patti Phillips; Andrea Richmond; Cheryl McCombe; Sandy Ronald; Carol Ploen; Jennifer George; coach Coleen Dufresne; assistant Cheryl Kryluk; athletic director Joyce Fromson; SID Terry Gavan
The champion Lakehead Thunderwolves: Karen Brown; Lynne Brown; Monica Burchert; Julia Scott; Doris Burchert; Kim Duffy; Leslie Edwards; Charlene Luke; Clare Malcolm; Sherry Ree; Vicki Vanderburgh; Jennifer Walsh; Lucy Patterson; Mary Neglia; coach Stu Julius; assistant Alex Sorenson; athletic director Ken Coffin; SID Sharon Kozak