WESMEN RESULTS March 8-10, 2003
March 10
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CIS National Women's Basketball Championships - Gold Medal
Victoria def Wesmen 60-51
WESMEN LET GOLDEN CHANCE SLIP AWAY
The gold was there for the taking, but the Wesmen couldn’t quite wrestle it away from the upstart Victoria Vikes in the CIS Women’s National Final Monday night at McMaster University in Hamilton. Sixth seeded Victoria went on a 9-0 run to end the game, increasing their intensity on defense, hitting key baskets and making most of their free throws down the stretch to sink the fourth seeded Winnipeg’s hopes for their first CIS championship since 1995. The score was tied 31-31 at the half and the two teams were never more than a few points apart until the closing moments of the hard fought contest. The Vikes only managed to shoot 30 % from the field – compared to 45% for the Wesmen, but dominated on the offensive glass, out rebounding Winnipeg 17-4. The Wesmen settle for silver after taking the bronze in last year’s Nationals and will use the second place finish as motivation for next season when the CIS Women’s National Championships begin the first of a two-year run at the University of Winnipeg. Victoria, winning their second national championship in four years, got 18 points from 5th year forward and Second Team All-Canadian Lindsey Anderson and 13 points and 11 rebounds from Jania Mynott. Heidi Schwartz led the Wesmen with 12 points while Player of the Game Uzo Asagwara chipped in with 9. 2nd year guard Charmaine Izzard and First Team All-Canadian JoAnne Wells were named tournament All-stars.
- source Colin Fraser - Wesmen Media Relations
CIS WEBSITE REPORT
#6 VICTORIA CROWNS DREAM WEEKEND WITH GOLD
Hamilton, ON (CIS) – In the Final of the 2003 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Women’s Basketball Championship at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, the #6 seeded University of Victoria Vikes tipped off against the #4 seeded University of Winnipeg Wesmen. In front of an enthusiastic, capacity crowd of over 3,000 at the Burridge Gymnasium, the Vikes held the Wesmen scoreless over the last 3:37, to win their first championship since 1999-2000, with a 60-51 victory. For complete Championship info: www.athrec.mcmaster.ca/cisbasketball/
Victoria reached the game with victories over #3 Memorial University of Newfoundland and #2 Université Laval. Winnipeg had defeated #4 McMaster University and top-seeded Simon Fraser University. The Canada West rivals had met three times in 2003, a split of a regular season series in Winnipeg, and a Wesmen victory in the conference semi-final. Their knowledge of one another meant the game would be close, and it was. The Vikes jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, the largest spread of the opening 20 minutes, until the Wesmen fought back to take a 27-22 advantage with three minutes to play in the first half. The teams entered the locker room tied 31-31. Second Team All-Canadian Lindsay Anderson (Victoria, BC) led Victoria with 13 first half points, while Heidi Schwartz (Winnipeg, MB) paced Winnipeg with 10 points. It was more of the same in the second half, with neither team able to take control. Winnipeg’s Kate Daniels (Winnipeg, MB) hit a 3-point shot with 8:40 to play, only her fourth of the season, to give the Wesmen a 47-44 advantage. But the Vikes responded, and with 3:37 on the clock, the score was tied again 51-51. It was at that point the Victoria defense tightened. One night earlier, Winnipeg forced Simon Fraser into a shot clock violation, which effectively turned the game in their favour, and led to their upset win. This time, the tables were turned, as the Vikes forced the Wesmen into a violation of their own. Victoria scored on the ensuing possession, and never looked back. In fact, Winnipeg didn’t score a point the rest of the way, and the Vikes went on to the victory. Anderson led a balanced Victoria attack, scoring 18 points, and adding seven rebounds and six assists. Jania Mynott (Surrey, BC) had a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Krystal O’Byrne (Victoria, BC) had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Dani Everitt (Guelph, ON) scored nine points and added eight assists. Heidi Schwartz led Winnipeg with 12 points, while Uzoma Asagwara (Winnipeg, MB) scored nine points. Mynott and Asagwara were named Saxon Players of the Game.
Winnipeg will host the Championship in 2004. With only one player on both teams in their fifth year of eligibility, and with Canada West assured of four berths, look for both schools at next year’s tournament (Winnipeg will be there as the host school).
March 9
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CIS National Women's Basketball Championships - Semi-Finals
Wesmen def. Simon Fraser 68-61
WESMEN WIN! WINNIPEG SET TO BATTLE VICTORIA IN MONDAY’S CIS FINAL
The Wesmen Women’s Basketball Team get a crack at their first CIS National Championship since 1995 after upsetting the top ranked Simon Fraser Clan 68-61 in a National Semi-Final game on Sunday night. It certainly didn’t look that way early on as Simon Fraser stormed out to a 12-0 lead, but fourth-seeded Winnipeg fought back to jump ahead 32-29 at the half. The Wesmen gutted it out for the final 20 minutes, rebounding well, taking care of the ball, and making their free throws down the stretch to emerge victorious over a tough and talented Simon Fraser team. Winnipeg was led by First Team All-Canadian JoAnne Wells’ 19 points including a perfect 11 for 11 from the foul line. Player of the Game Charmaine Izzard supplied 17 more points to the Wesmen total in a second consecutive outstanding performance. CIS Player of Year Jessica Kaczowka had 31 points for the Clan in a losing cause. In the other semi-final played earlier on, the Victoria Vikes upset Laval, setting the stage for an All-Canada West Conference Final. Winnipeg won two out of three games against Victoria this season, including the Canada West semi-final. Monday’s championship game will be broadcast at 5:00 pm on TSN.
- source Colin Fraser - Wesmen Media Relations
The first few minutes of tonight’s game suggested that it was going to be another Clan blowout. By 16:30 SFU was ahead 12-0. Winnipeg got their first basket at 12:40 and went on a 9-2 run to get back into the game. By 14:07 the score was SFU 14 Winnipeg 9. At 13:09 Winnipeg showed they meant business when they forced the Clan into an unusual shot clock violation. SFU held a modest lead through most of the rest of the half but at 2:33 the Wesmen tied the score 24 all. In the remaining time the Clan took the lead twice only to see the Wesmen tie the game and finally take the halftime lead 32-29 with 0:385 seconds left. Top scorers for the Wesmen going into the locker room were Uzoma Isagwara with 11 points and Janet Wells with 9. Top scorers for the Clan were Jessica Kaczowka with 12 points and Dani Langford with 10 points. The Clan had the best of the boards (24-17) but shot only 27% from the field and had 9 turnovers to the Wesmen’s 3. The Wesmen shot 32% from the field and 100% from the free throw line.The second half featured exciting up and down play as Winnipeg held a small lead until 14:35 when a Maren Corrigal basket plus free throw for the Clan tied the score at 39 all. The lead changed hands twice in the next two minutes but at 12:42 Winnipeg took the a 43-42 advantage, a lead they would essentially keep until the end of the game. The next few minutes were a great battle between CIS First team All Star JoAnne Wells and CIS MVP Jessica Kaczowka as the game flowed up and down the court. A Kaczowka 2-plus-one tied the score at 55 all at 5:31 and two Kaczowka free throws tied it again at 57 at 4:23, all after JoAnne Wells got two from the line. JoAnne Wells got a 2-plus-one, a steal and a score to seal the game for the Wesmen with 3:04 left. The Clan got some more points but were forced to foul to stop the clock. Steady Winnipeg free throw shooting put the game away. Top scorers for Winnipeg in the game were third year guard JoAnne Wells (Bedford, NS) with 21 points and Saxon Player of the Game Charmaine Izzard (Winnipeg, MB), a sophomore guard, with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Top scorers for Simon Fraser were Saxon Player of the Game and overall top scorer Jessica Kaczowka (Regina, SK) with 31 points and 11 rebounds and third year guard Dani Langford (Abbotsford, BC) with 12. As a result of this win, Winnipeg goes on to the Gold Medal game against #6 Victoria on Monday at 6:00 pm (Live on TSN). Simon Fraser plays #3 Laval for the Bronze Medal on Monday 3:00 pm.
March 8
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CIS National Women's Basketball Championships - 1st round
Wesmen def. McMaster 92-70
WESMEN WIN 1st ROUND AGAINST HOST McMASTER
The Wesmen Women’s Basketball Team earned themselves another shot at No. 1 Simon Fraser after steamrolling the host McMaster Marauders 92-70 in a CIS Women’s Basketball National Championship quarterfinal game on Saturday night. Five Wesmen hit double-digits in scoring as fourth seed Winnipeg parlayed a balanced up-tempo attack into a lopsided win over the fifth seeded Marauders. Player of the Game Uzo Asagwara, suiting up in her first National Championship Tournament, sparked Winnipeg with 17 points, 13 coming in the first half when the Wesmen pulled ahead to stay – heading to the locker room leading 52-34. The Winnipeg onslaught continued in the second frame with their lead reaching as much as 30 points, before settling for the final 22 point victory. Forward Janet Wells had 16 points and guard Charmaine Izzard kicked in 13 more to add to the Wesmen total. 5th year forward Angela Willerton had a great game on the glass, pulling down 10 rebounds. The win puts Winnipeg into the Final Four for the second season in a row as they take on top-ranked Simon Fraser Clan in one semi-final on Sunday night. The Wesmen are hoping to avenge a 76-50 loss to the Clan in the Canada West Final two weeks ago. Game time is 6:00 pm and the game can be seen live on WTSN. The other semi-final pits Laval against Victoria. The National Championship final goes Monday evening at 5:00 pm and will be broadcast on TSN.
- source Colin Fraser - Wesmen Media Relations
CIS WEBSITE REPORT
#4 WINNIPEG WINS BIG OVER #5 MAC, WILL FACE #1 SFU IN SEMI-FINAL
Hamilton, ON (CIS) – In the fourth and last opening-round match-up of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Women’s Basketball Championship at McMaster University in Hamilton, the #4 University of Winnipeg Wesmen burst out of the gate and scored 52 first-half points, on their way to a convincing 92-70 win over #5 and host McMaster University Marauders that earned them a bert in Sunday’s second Semi-Final.
For complete Championship info: www.athrec.mcmaster.ca/cisbasketball/
Entering the game, Winnipeg wanted to keep alive their chances of improving on their 2002 Bronze medal effort and the Marauders were looking for their first win at the Nationals under Coach Theresa Burns.
The Wesmen demonstrated the depth of their team throughout the match. While Mac kept it close for the first few minutes, they never did catch the Wesmen. At 13:10 in the first half the score was 15-13 in favor of Winnipeg 15, but over the next few minutes some inspired shooting by rookie Uzoma Asagwara (Winnipeg, MB) and strong rebounding by the Wesmen saw them pulling away from Mac. The Wesmen gradually increased their lead and finished the half up 52-31.
Asagwara led the Winnipeg first-half scoring with 13 points, going 5 for 6 including 2 for 2 from beyond the arc. For the Marauders 5th year guard Alana Shaw london, ON) was top scorer with 15 points. Winnipeg dominated the boards 22-12 with turnovers even at nine each.
Back from the break McMaster opened the scoring but never really got back into the game. The Wesmen continued to score and showed the depth of their bench as they increased their lead to as much as 30 points. By 11:38 Winnipeg was ahead 73-43. To the Marauders’ credit they did not give up and managed to get some nice late game scoring from rookie guard Fiona Cheng (Toronto) to make the final score 92-70. Once again in the second frame the Wesmen had a good edge on the boards (18-12) while turnovers were even.
Uzoma Asagwara was named Saxon Player of the Game for the Wesmen. She finished with 17 points. 4th year forward Janet Wells (Bedford, NS) with 16 points and sophomore guard Charmaine Izzard (Winnipeg, MB) with 13 also played well for Winnipeg.
Alana Shaw, top scorer in the game with 20 points, was named Saxon Player of the Game for McMaster. Fiona Cheng with 14 second-half points and Second Team All-Canadian and OUA West Player of the Year Sarah Sterling (Blenheim, ON) with 10 points had good games for the Marauders.
#4 Winnipeg advances to Sunday’s second Semi-Final (7:00 p.m.), where they will face the #1 and defending champion Simon Fraser Clan. The contest will be a rematch of the Canada West Final, which Simon Fraser won by 76-50 two weeks ago.
#5 McMaster will try to rebound in Sunday’s second consolation match against #8 Wilfrid Laurier (3:00 p.m.). The last time the two rivals met was in the OUA West divisional Final, with MAC coming out on top 85-74.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE AND RESULTS (times local)
Saturday, March 8
1:00pm #6 Victoria 72-64 Memorial #3
3:00pm #2 Laval 63-54 Queen’s #7
6:00pm #1 Simon Fraser 79-55 Wilfrid Laurier #8
8:00pm #4 Winnipeg 92-70 McMaster #5
Sunday, March 9
1:00pm #7 Queen’s vs Memorial #3 (Consolation #1)
3:00pm #8 Wilfrid Laurier vs McMaster #5 (Consolation #2)
5:00pm #6 Victoria vs Laval #2 (Semi-Final #1 / Live on WTSN)
7:00pm #4 Winnipeg vs Simon Fraser #1 (Semi-Final #2 / 9:30pm on WTSN)
Monday, March 10
1:00pm 5th Place Game
3:00pm Bronze
6:00pm Final (Live on TSN)
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