REGULAR SEASON

EAST       WEST            
  Laurentian 17-3 25-7 John Campbell Western 12-2 21-11 Bob Delaney      
  Toronto 15-5 20-14 Michele Belanger McMaster 12-2 24-12 Theresa Burns      
  Queen’s 14-6 23-10 Dave Wilson Guelph 11-3 19-12 Angela Orton      
  Ryerson 8-12 14-16 Sandy Pothier Lakehead  6-8 10-20 Stu Julius      
  Ottawa 7-13  9-16 Fabienne Perrin Waterloo  5-9 10-16 Tom O’Brien      
  York 3-17  6-25 Bill Pangos Brock  5-9 12-18 Chris Critelli      
  Carleton 3-17  4-20 Alex Overwijk Windsor  4-10  9-20 Shawn O’Rourke      
          Wilfrid Laurier  1-13  2-24 Sue Lindley      
                       

       Playoff non-qualifiers:

       Carleton Ravens: Kelly Dixon, Jill Edgar, Megan Robb, Rosie Warden, Christiane Fox, Jodi Drummond, Nicole Dunlop, Carol Graves, Tamara McNulty, Brenda Osman, Henri Velhan, Tricia Hoo, Kelly Ivens, Anne McDonnell, Robyn Pilarski, coach Alex Overwijk

       Ottawa Gee-Gees: Catherine Poch, Cathy Chorney, Lori Henderson, Irene Vandoros, Sarah Morris, Kimberley Redhead-Ferk, Genevieve Laroche, Corrina Brice, Linda De La Mothe, Jennifer Budd, Ali Johnston, Lindsay Collis, Christie Colmer, coach Fabienne Perrin, assistant Rob Anderson, assistant Sue Snider

       Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks: Pilena Abate, Elizabeth Bellingham, Michelle Crispe, Sheri Faber, Mariana Hrkac, Jennifer MacDonald, Amy MacPherson, Meaghan Oikawa, Amanda Peers, Kristi Perras, Bobbi-Jo Schweitzer, Kealey Smyth, Katherine Tanner, Jaime Wendland, coach Sue Lindley

       Windsor Lancers: Leslie Goosens, Denise Strachan, Lindsay Metcalfe, Celeste Courneya, Anne-Marie Yakopich, Kathy Harris, Miranda Pyette, Shawna LaBonte, Megan Murdock, Meghan Gilmer, Shawna Brosnan, Daphne Charlemagne, Karie Jackson, coach Shawn O’Rourke

       York Lions: Leslie Richards, Stephanie Harrison, Kizzy Adams, Dena Weinroth, Karen Papadopoulos, Leila Burden, Janine Day, Rhianna Young, Charlene Slade, Siobhan Wright, Zoe Papdopoulos, Tara Dow, Laurian Palmer, Kristen Rainville, Laura Gaiotto, coach Bill Pangos

In the West quarterfinals, Guelph defeated Waterloo 73-58. Athenas coach Tom O’Brien told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we struggled in the second half.” The Athenas (coached by Tom O’Brien) included Leslie Mitchell, Kristen Eisner, Adrienne Cillis, Nicole Consitt, Mary-France Lapthorne, Meghan Clancy, Cecilia Cotton, Catherine Dietz, Laura Duskocy, Janis Goldie, Kenzie Hamilton, Natalie Ioanidis, Eric Jaffray, Allison McColeman, Amy Pryse-Phillips, Jennifer Rousseau, Karla Rylands and Stefanie Egilo.

In the other West quarterfinal, Lakehead defeated Brock 59-57 as Angela Hrkac scored 29, while nabbing 19 boards. Brock tied the game at 57 with 23 seconds to play when Tracey Swift hit 1-2 form the line. But Lakehead’s Paula Rich scored her first bucket of the game with 2.2 seconds on the clock. Shannon Hann paced the Badgers with 21. Nicola ‘Nikki’ Thompson added 14 and Helena DiGregorio 9. Hann told the St. Catharines Standard that “at the end of game, (Hrkac) took over …. It was the best game I’ve seen us play all year and that’s why it’s so disappointing. Everyone who Chris put on the floor did a good job.” Badgers coach Chris Critelli said “we played good basketball at both ends of the floor and we deserved to win. They played so calm and cool and had only 12 turnovers … They just pounded the ball inside.” The Badgers (coached by Chris Critelli, assisted by Tish Jeffrey and Karen Reinhardt) also included Rebecca ‘Becky’ Bryson, Vanessa Bozza, S Doherty, Marie Harper, Genille Clifford, Kimberly Model, Tracey Swift, Krissie Jilesen, Lyndy Carter, Erin Gauthier and Rebecca Fong.

       In the West semis, Western defeated Lakehead 74-57 as Jen Haylor scored 16, Holli Clarkson 14, Adriana Pompa 12 and Tricia Young 12. The Thunderwolves (coached by Stu Julius) included Angela Hrkac, Alicia Gunn, Jennifer Galloway, Sarah Langley, Jackie Dawson, Caitlyn Crooks, Jody Euloth, Paula Rich, Kerri Jo Timmerman, Jenifer Firmani and Meaghan McAlpine.

       In the other West semi, McMaster defeated Guelph 63-52 as Danielle Everitt scored 17 and Kerri Hill 8, while nabbing 13 boards. Guelph took an early 10-4 lead on buckets by Julie Donahue and Pat Marcello but McMaster responded with 7 unanswered points. With the game tied at 19, McMaster closed out the half with a 18-5 run to take a 37-24 lead into the lockers. Dominating the boards, McMaster built up a 21 point lead in the second half and coasted. Guelph cut the margin to six late in in the second half but Mac drilled its free throws to ice it. Marauders coach Theresa Burns told the Hamilton Spectator that “we just asked the players to make sure each of their shifts made a difference. They did that. … Taryn (Stratten) was incredible. She was the one calling the shots at the end. She stepped in with the game on the line and took over.” Pat Marcello led the Gryphons with 20. Kristi Newton added 12. The Gryphons (coached by Angela Orton, assisted by Skye Angus, trained by Mike Cook and Shauna Grozelle, the staff also included basketball technician Samantha Williams) also included Jennifer Wenczler, Ingrid Marchand, Kim Johnson, Julie Donohue, Nasrin Gilbert, Jule Angle, Nicole Hogg, Victoria Sherrif-Scott, Jennifer Murphy, Gina Tatti and Erin Wallace.

       In the West final, McMaster defeated Western 74-69 in overtime. Mac took a quick 8-0 lead on a bucket and a pair of free throws by Kerri Hill. But Western rallied back to take a 13-12 lead and the teams then traded the lead back and forth before McMaster put on a late spurt to take a 39-29 lead into the lockers. The Mustangs chipped away at the McMaster lead and tied it at 46 with 13 minutes to play. They moved ahead by five but Taryn Stratten rallied the Marauders back with a big three to tie it with eight minutes to play. Western against built a four point lead with three minutes to play but Mac rallied and Sarah Cameron drilled a bucket in the final seconds to force overtime. Stratten and Sarah Cameron took control in the overtime, each hitting a bucket to put McMaster up 71-66 and then the Marauders iced it at the line. Marauders coach Theresa Burns told the Hamilton Spectator that “you couldn’t have scripted it any better. To have a young team show that kind of poise is so impressive. We just kept going back to ‘how did we get here’. The answer was by believing in ourselves.” Cameron finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds and was chosen McMaster’s player of the game. Stratten scored 15, Kerri Hill 12 and 10 boards, Tara Johnson 7, Danielle Everitt 6, White 5, MacLeod 4, Dani Chabot 2 and Seldentuis 1, while Shaw and Cameron were scoreless. Mac shot 29-69 (.420) from the floor, 3-18 (.167) from the arc and 13-29 (.448) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, 20 fouls, 22 assists, 24 turnovers, 2 blocks and 7 steals. Tricia Young led Western with 18 points. Jennifer Haylor added 17, Nadia Pezzolo 12 and 17 rebounds, Cindylea Scott 11, Holli Clarkson 9 and Adriana Pompa 2, while Stephanie Howard and Sarah Collins were scoreless. The Mustangs hit 27-72 (.375) from the floor, 1-6 (.167) from the arc and 14-19 (.737) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, 25 fouls. 14 assists, 6 blocks and 12 steals. “This is a dream come true,” Marauders coach Theresa Burns told the Western Gazette. “We talked about this day at the beginning of the year. No one believed us outside our program but we believed we could do it. And we did it. It was the fight of our lives. It proved we won’t lie down and die for anyone.” Mustangs coach Bob Delaney said “I think initially we were looking forward to the provincial title. I don’t think what was happening sank in until half time.” Mustangs guard Jennifer Haylor missed a shot to win it in regulation with the score knotted at 65. “It was just a throw,” Haylor said. “If it had gone in it would have been luck.” Delaney said “anything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. One shot bouncing out of the rim can make or break a season.” Haylor said “we had it in the second half and we let it go.” Sarah Cameron was chosen player of the game for the Marauders, while Tricia Young earned the laurels for the Mustangs.

       In the East semis, Toronto upset 8th-ranked Queen’s 86-71 in a shootout. “It was a high scoring affair, which we didn’t want at all,” said Gaels coach Dave Wilson. The Blues hit 6-9 from beyond the arc and that proved the difference, Wilson added. “Their shooting from the perimeter was much improved over what it had been all season.” Rachel Ellison paced Toronto with 19 on 7-13 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Suzanne McAlpine added 19 on 6-9 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Samantha Burrows notched 16 on 7-14 from the floor, 2-6 from the line and 12 boards. Karen Bottineau scored 12 on 3-11 from the floor, 6-8 from the line, 5 boards and 5 assists. Stephanie Splitter added 2 on 1-3 from the floor. Richardson scored 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Holly Pagnan notched 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 3 boards and 2 assists. Adolph scored 4 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists. Robson added 2. The Blues hit 30-62 (.480) from the floor, 20-28 (.710) from the line and 6-9 from the arc, while garnering 41 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 6 blocks, 18 assists, 19 fouls, 11 turnovers and 5 steals. Jacqueline Beaudoin led the Gaels with 20. Andrea Thomson added 14 and Stephanie Glancey 12. The Gaels (coached by Dave Wilson, assisted by Tim Orpin) also included Wendy Moon, Heather Box, Jenn Jackson, Deanah Shelley, Stephanie Glancey.

In the other East semi, Laurentian defeated Ryerson 80-61 as Stephanie Harrison scored 18. The Voyageurs built a 17-point at the half by capitalizing on Ryerson turnovers for runouts. “There have been sparks of good and sparks of really bad on this team. Turnovers totally killed us,” Rams guard Miruna Muller, who scored 12, told The Eyeopener. Rams coach Sandra Pothier said Laurentian was “a very disciplined team and when we made mistakes, they capitalized.” Laurentian hit 6-13 from the beyond the arc, while Ryerson was 1-11. The Rams (coached by Sandy Pothier) also included Eva Ain, Nadine Barnes, Marla Behnke, Mandi-May Bond, Tania Campbell, Michelle Dawns, Kiley Fleming, Miryana Golobovich, Monique Hanley, Karina Navarro, Rebecca Owen, Daniela Puhst, Petra Wolfbeiss and Lisa Poulin.

       In the East final, Laurentian defeated Toronto 63-55. The Voyageurs trailed 30-24 in the first half but exploded with a 19-2 run to take command. They led 43-32 at the half. “We had no flow offensively,” Blues coach Michele Belanger told the Varsity. “We took too many early shots. … We had a poor phase defensively where we allowed their post to get open at the end of the first half. There’s no way that should have happened. We knew it was coming and the players should have buckled down.” Toronto outrebounded Laurentian 26-16 on the offensive glass. “I was pleased that we got the boards, but we didn’t get the calls after the rebounds,” said Belanger. “A team gets

four fouls in a half and you have to wonder what the hell is going on.” Karen Bottineau was named player of the game for the Blues after scoring 14 on 5-16 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards, 5 steals, and 5 assists. Samantha Burrows added 10 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 6 boards. Rachel Ellison added 8 on 4-16 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 6 boards. Stephanie Splitter scored 5 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Suzanne McAlpine added 3 on 1-10 from the floor and 7 boards. Vanessa Richardson added 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Holly Pagnan scored 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Adolphe added 4, along with 3 boards, while Elanna Robson was scoreless. The Blues hit 22-74 (.300) from the floor, 8-11 (.730) from the line and 3-19 (.160) from the arc, while garnering 47 boards, including 26 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 17 fouls, 3 blocks, 18 turnovers and 8 steals.

       In the Wilson Cup final, McMaster defeated Laurentian 69-54 becoming the first team from the West to win since 1983. Laurentian opened a 10-2 lead before Keri Hill settled the Marauders down and they rallied back to 109. A pair of treys gave McMaster a 17-15 lead. The Marauders led 39-31 at the half. They increased the margin to 14 midway through the second half and romped. Kerri Hill was named player of the game as she scored 17 points. Taryn Stratten added 10, Tara Johnson 1, Dani Everitt 10, Jackie White 7, MacLeod 3, Alana Shaw 4, Dani Chabot 9, Dayna Seldentuis 4 and Sarah Cameron 4. McMaster shot 22-56 (.393) from the floor, 9-22 (.409) from the arc and 16-22 (.727) from the line while garnering 16 boards, 17 fouls, 20 assists, 20 turnovers and 15 steals. Stephanie Harrison led Laurentian with 20 points, Gillian Eccles 11, Tanya Tatti 2, Chantal Gregoire 1, Stephanie DeSutter 2, Karen Vos 5, Shauna Conway 9 and Claire Beatty 4, while Tammy Kenzie was scoreless. The Voyageurs shot 21-46 (.457) from the line, 1-11 (.091) from the arc and 11-14 (.786) from the line, while grabbing 26, 20 fouls, 15 assists, 28 turnovers, 5 blocks and 8 steals.

       After the season, Wilfrid Laurier coach Sue Lindley stepped aside to become coordinator of the school’s fitness centre. She was replaced by Lakehead coach Stu Julius, who’d steered the Norwesters for 18 seasons and was twice named Ontario coach of the year and once named GPAC coach of the year in 1985-86. Has also served as an assistant coach with the junior national team and had an overall record of 311-250.

       After the season, the University of Ottawa conducts a review of its athletic program and decides to place increased emphasis on six sports and therein, restore full-time status to the women’s basketball head coaching position. The demands of recruiting and fund-raising, plus, alumni and community relations, make it “critical” that the job be a full-time position, says current coach Fabienne Perrin. But Perrin, a computer analyst, she says career and family commitments will keep her from remaining with the team in anything other than an assistant or advisory capacity. Athletic director Luc Gelineau said the review will feature a “tiering” of programs to determine their levels of financial support. Top level, or Category 1 sports, will receive the most assistance. However, they must generate 50 per cent of required revenues from gate receipts or donations. Category 1 coaches will have to be full-time, just to “have the time to be out there to fund raise,” Gelineau added. They’ll be aided by a “more professional” marketing regime. Wanda Pilon was the last full-time coach of the women’s Gee-Gees basketball team, but the position was made part-time when she became the university’s alumni director. The Gee-Gees subsequently name Brookfield High School teacher and former Gee-Gees assistant Rob Anderson as head coach. “He has demonstrated strong values in supporting both academic and athletic pursuits which are consistent with the University of Ottawa,” says director of sports services Luc Gelineau.

       Midway through the season, Windsor informs part-time coach Shawn O’Rourke that his services won’t be needed next year, after three years at the helm. Athletic director Joanne MacLean has plans to hire ex-Lancer Georgia Risnita when she completes her coaching master’s degree at Victoria and will make the job full time.

The co-bronze medalist Toronto Varsity Blues: Karen Bottineau; Samantha Burrows; Rachel Ellison; Stephanie Splitter; Suzanne McAlpine; Vanessa Richardson; Holly Pagnan; Adolphe; Elanna Robson; Laura Verbeeten; Inkster; Melissa Bremner; Nikki Tsourdounaki; coach Michele Belanger

The co-bronze medalist University of Western Ontario Mustangs: Tricia Young; Jennifer Haylor; Nadia Pezzolo; Cindylea Scott; Holli Clarkson; Adriana Pompa; Stephanie Ward; Sarah Collins; Anne Van Leeuwen; Sonya Doherty; Jennifer Yakubowich; Lianne Dolan; Emily Northcote; coach Bob Delaney; assistant Don Coleman; assistant Jodie Hauch; assistant Dave Bartolotta

       The runner-up Laurentian Voyageurs: Stephanie Harrison; Tanya Tatti; Tammy Kenzie; Chantal Gregoire; Stephanie DeSutter; Gillian Eccles; Karen Vos; Shauna Conway; Claire Beatty; Emily Hahn; Nicole Walker; Jennifer Chorney; coach John Campbell

       The champion McMaster Marauders: Sarah Cameron; Danielle Everitt; Kerri Hill; Tara Johnson; Taryn Stratten; Jackie White; Alana Shaw; Danielle Chabot; Dayna Seldentuis; Angela Macleod; Samantha Ward; coach Theresa Burns; assistant Amos Connolly