REGULAR SEASON
| EAST | WEST | ||||||||||
| Laurentian | 19-1 | 27-5 | John Campbell | Lakehead | 12-2 | 21-10 | Stu Julius | ||||
| Toronto | 17-3 | 26-7 | Michele Belanger | Western | 12-2 | 28-5 | Bob Delaney | ||||
| Queen’s | 15-5 | 24-11 | Dave Wilson | McMaster | 8-6 | 16-11 | Theresa Burns | ||||
| Ryerson | 9-11 | 12-19 | Sandy Pothier | Guelph | 8-6 | 14-15 | Angela Orton | ||||
| York | 6-14 | 9-22 | Bill Pangos | Waterloo | 7-7 | 12-15 | Tom O’Brien | ||||
| Ottawa | 5-15 | 6-20 | Denise Dignard | Brock | 4-10 | 6-19 | Chris Critelli | ||||
| Carleton | 0-20 | 1-22 | Alex Overwijk | Windsor | 3-11 | 4-22 | Shawn O’Rourke | ||||
| Wilfrid Laurier | 2-12 | 5-20 | Sue Lindley | ||||||||
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Brock Badgers: Shannon Hann, Vanessa Bozza, Marie Harper, Helena DiGregorio, Sara Montague, Krissy Kort, Amanda Stocks, Tracey Swift, Danah DeLorenzi, Nicola Thompson, Jamie Fong, Barb Kort, Kathy LaCarte, Heather Myers, Clare Browne, coach Chris Critelli, assistant Tish Jeffrey, assistant Karen Reinhardt
Carleton Ravens: Kelly Dixon, Jillian Edgar, Megan Robb, Rosie Warden, Christiane Fox, Jodi Drummond, Karin Brown, Carol Graves, Angela Hall, Brenda Osman, Cara Weiss, Kathy Gregoire, coach Alex Overwijk, assistant Taffe Charles, assistant Mary Layes, assistant Heather McAlpine, trainer Laura Goslin
Ottawa Gee-Gees: Irene Vandoros, Melissa McLaughlin, Genevieve Laroche, Lindsay Collis, Kim Redhead-Ferk, Robyn Soley, Catherine Chorney, Catherine Poch, Alexandra Johnson, Sarah Morris, Dawn Yearwood, Natalie Indongo, Melanie Oehling, coach Denise Dignard, assistant Fabienne Perrin, assistant Rob Anderson, trainer Nathalie Quirion
Waterloo Warriors: Jacalyn White, Jodi Hawley, Leslie Mitchell, Marie-Frances Lapthorne, Adrienne Cillis, Catherine Dietz, Hayley Moylan, Kate MacIntosh, Laura Duskocy, Natalie Ioanidis, Janis Goldie, Pamela Dueck, Kenzie Hamilton, Kelly Burroughs, Cecilia Cotton, Anne McDonnell, Kate MacIntosh, Christina Dupre, coach Tom O’Brien, assistant Kathy Brook, assistant Nancy Gyurcsik, manager Jay Lee, therapist Alison Ritzmann, therapist Amanda Fong
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks: Leah Andrew, Ashley Brunette, Sheri Faber, Kelly Gentleman, Karen Koert, Amy MacPherson, Jennifer Martin, Amanda Peers, Kristi Perras, Sara Thompson, Erin Towns, Brenda Vrkljan, coach Sue Lindley, assistant Gerry Mousseau, assistant Rob Simmons, assistant Mary Thompson, therapist Alison Malatestinic, therapist Jamie Carlson, academic advisor Lori Livingston, psychologist Kim Ducharme
Windsor Lancers: Georgia Risnita, Leslie Goosens, Denise Strachan, Lindsay Metcalfe, Amanda Pfeffer, Janna Roskamp, Julie Yakopich, Sherelle Dean, Ann-Marie Yakopich, Donna Mancuso, Melissa Rougier, Tanya Sawyers, Christine Carr, coach Shawn O’Rourke, assistant Maureen Murphy
York Lions: Karen Jackson, Leslie Richards, Leila Burden, Dena Weinroth, Karen Papadopoulos, Sharon Sliwinski, April Taylor, Charlene Slade, Shelley Lang, Siobhan Wright, Zoe Dimacopoulos, Kristen Rainville, coach Bill Pangos, assistant Eric Tiessen, therapist Christine Walton, therapist Claire Moscone
In the quarterfinals, held in Sudbury, the Western Mustangs defeated the Ryerson Rams 76-67 in a battle between Jennifer Haylor and Miruna Muller. The Mustangs broke to a 12-2 lead but the Rams rallied to knot the score at 36 at the half as Miruna Muller came off the bench to score 14. Western opened the second half with a pair of buckets and Ryerson never again seriously threatened. “I don’t think we played up to our potential. The shots weren’t dropping for us,” Rams point guard Karina Navarro told the Eyeopener. Rams coach Sandy Pothier said “we moved the ball well in the first half — we penetrated. But we were stagnant in the second half. We lost our composure.” The Rams (coached by Sandy Pothier, assistants Darcel Wright and Richard Dean, trainer Joanne Hudson) also included Eva Ain, Nadine Barnes, Tania Campbell, Michelle Dawns, Sandrise James, Becky Owen, Georgia Parkes, Lisa Poulin, Daniela Puhst and Karen Ure.
Toronto’s size and experience proved far too much for McMaster to handle as the Blues romped 91-56 after taking a 51-24 lead at the break. The Blues exploded to a 15-0 lead and cruised. Laura Verbeeten and Samantha Burrows each scored 15, Rachel Ellison 12, Karen Bottineau 11, Stephanie Splitter 8, Elanna Robson 7, Elizabeth Hart 9, Suzanne McAlpine 7, Babic 4 and Brand 3, while Bremner was scoreless. The Blues hit 38-74 (.514) from the floor, 7-11 (.636) from the arc and 8-18 (.444) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, 24 fouls, 34 assists, 18 turnovers and 30 steals, including 10 by Hart. Carla Vesprini led McMaster with 12, Nicky Brunhuber 10, Samantha Ward 8, Taryn Stratten 7, Jackie Young 2, Tara Johnson 3, Kerri Hill 3, Lindsay Finch 4, Cindy Merritt 4, Danielle Chabot 2 and Wendy Merritt 2, while Michelle Mittl was scoreless. The Marauders hit 18-68 (.265) from the floor, 0-9 from the arc and 20-27 (.741) from the line, while garnering 56 boards, 18 fouls, 17 assists, 30 turnovers and 12 steals. The Marauders (coached by Theresa Burns, assisted by Ildiko Hall, Amos Connolly and Kelly Dunham) also included Kristina Nixon, Jennifer MacDonald, Jackie White and Tara Johnson.
Laurentian thrashed Guelph 72-43 as they pounded the ball into Stephanie Harrison and Joy McNichol in the paint and took a 40-19 lead at the break and coasted. The Gryphons (coached by Angela Orton, assisted by Bett Naumovski and Karen Gittings, managed by Samantha Williams and trained by Fred Gallo) included Pat Marcello, Kristy Newton, Narin Gilbert, Julie Angle, Karen Arnott, Nicole Sabol, Julie Donohue, Vicki Sherriff-Scott, Julie Steinberg, Anne Herbison, Shayna Stott, Nicole Hogg, Gina Tatti, Jodi Jenkins, Kim Van Winckle, Rena Wesolowski and Ingrid Marchand.
In the last quarterfinal, Queen’s defeated Lakehead 69-57. Lakehead took an early lead by dominating the paint but Queen’s settled down and took a 33-27 lead into the lockers. Wendy Moon turnaround jumpers and Deanah Shelley drives into the lane iced it for the Gaels. Deanah Shelly and Jen Jackson each scored 14 for Queen’s. Wendy Moon added 11 and Stephanie Glancey 10. The Thunderwolves (coached by Stu Julius, assisted by Bob Main and Jamie Lockington, trainer Kendra Arthur) included Alicia Gunn, Angela Hrkac, Katya Mason, Jenny Burgess, Amy Pinnegar, Sarah Langley, Jackie Dawson, Caitlin Crooks, Kerri Jo Timmermans, Becky Morrison, Staci Volkmann and Kelly Roth.
In the semis, Western defeated Toronto 73-64. Mustang point guard Angela Nobes was injured in a scramble for a loose ball with Liz Hart in the second quarter. “When she went out, we thought she would come back,” co-captain Nadia Pezzolo told the Western Gazette. “But Toronto thought they had the game won when she didn’t return. We never gave up and pulled it through in the end.” Sophomore guard Cindy Scott step in for Nobes. “She filled in the point guard role spectacularly. She was very composed,” Nobes said. Pezzolo said “winning bronze at the nationals last year was amazing. This was something that equaled that experience. Our senior players played like seniors. We all know what it’s like to lose that game.” Blues coach Michele Belanger told the Varsity that “we were always playing catch-up.” The Blues shot just .170 from the floor in the first half. “We couldn’t put the ball in the basket. It was if we were shooting at a moving basket,” said Belanger. “I think it was anxiety. I think we got tense and never settled down. We never got the ball moving around. … For some reason, we rushed things all the time. We never got into a rhythm.”
In the other semi, Laurentian defeated Queen’s 65-51. Jacqueline Beaudoin paced the Gaels with 13. Jen Jackson added 11.
In the bronze medal match, Queen’s defeated Toronto 69-61 as Wendy Moon scored 14 and grabbed 11 boards. Jen Jackson added 14, Deanah Shelly 11 and Andrea Thomson 10. “We were fighting for a chance to get a wild-card (entry] to the nationals,” Blues coach Michele Belanger told the Varsity. “That was our only hope… And again, we started playing like we were behind 15 points the whole time. We managed to go up, and then we started throwing passes away and we weren’t relaxed. … It wasn’t pretty.” The Varsity Blues (coached by Michelle Belanger, assisted by Cathy Casey and Mary Ann Kowal, graduate assistants Justine Ellison and Laurel Johnson, therapist Dan Chagnon) included Liz Hart, Laura Verbeeten, Karen Bottineau, Stephanie Splitter, Elanna Robson, Rachel Ellison, Melissa Bremner, Samantha Burrows, Alicia Brand and Suzanne McAlpine.
In the final, Laurentian defeated Western 75-71 in overtime. The Mustangs starting point guard Angela Nobes did not play, apparently suffering from a broken cheekbone and resting for the nationals. Western quickly got in foul trouble and Laurentian roared to a 41-29 lead at the half but Western rallied back to take a 55-49 lead in the second half with about eight minutes to play by double-teaming Joy McNichol and Stephanie Harrison in the paint. But then McNichol took command. She dominated the paint as Laurentian took a 64-61 lead with 20 seconds to play. Sonya Doherty drilled a trey to force overtime with players all around her. Laurentian missed a buzzer beater which would have won it. It was all Laurentian in the overtime. Shauna Conway hit a bucket and a free throw and Karen Vos drilled a series of free throws to put Laurentian ahead 75-68. Jennifer Haylor hit a meaningless three for Western to narrow the margin. Voyageurs coach John Campbell told the Western Gazette that “Angela Nobes is a great player and her missing from the line-up was definitely a factor in the game. However I thought Scott and [Sonya] Doherty really stepped up to help.” Nobes said “I’m glad my jersey wasn’t in reach. Being my last Ontario championship, it was very hard to watch.”
After the season, the league abandoning its eight-team, cross division tournament in favor of separate tourneys in the east and west.
The bronze medalist Queen’s Golden Gaels: Jacqueline Beaudoin; Wendy Moon; Jennifer Jackson; Deanah Shelly; Andrea Thomson; Stephanie Glancey; Shalea Piteau; Heather Box; Tammy Cooper; Cheryl Hunt; Erin Cressman; Monica Marton; coach Dave Wilson; assistant Tim Orpin; assistant Janet Swords; trainer Sandy Hall; trainer Sonia Duncombe; strength & conditioning Joanna Brooks
The runner-up Western Mustangs: Angela Nobes; Cindy Scott; Jennifer Haylor; Nadia Pezzolo; Laura Gunn; Kerri Downer; Mandy Payne; Holli Clarkson; Sonya Doherty; Jennifer Szabo; Melanie McAlendin; Tanneke Blaauboer; Lindsay Bell; Adriana Pompa; Tina Poldervaart; Adrienne Crickard; Tricia Young; redshirt Stephanie Howard; coach Bob Delaney; assistant Don Coleman; assistant (or player?) Jodie Hauch; assistant Dave Bartolotta; manager Jennifer Szabo; trainer Kerrie Downer; trainer Laura Gunn; academic advisor Craig Simpson; academic advisor James Olson
The champion Laurentian Voyageurs: Stephanie Harrison; Shelley Dewar; Tanya Tatti; Joy McNichol; Shauna Conway; Karen Vos; Nicole Walker; Chantal Gregoire; Tammy Kenzie; Stephanie De Sutter; Jennifer Chorney; Amber Petryshen; coach John Campbell; assistant Linda Carriere; trainer Sarah Stevens; manager Sylvie Thauvet