Star-Phoenix from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada • 25

Monday, February 28, 1983 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Star-Phoenix Sports C3 More wears $6,000 smile after winning Classic 1 By Dave Komosky of the Star-Phoenix For much of this curling season; Chris More had become adept at hiding behind a big smile, accepting condolences and being gracious about congratulating her opponents. It got so that More had the runner-up routine down pat, which happens when you lose in the finals as often as she had. So it was that the Winnipeg skip decided to take stock of the situation Sunday afternoon prior to yet another event final the inaugural $18,000 Molson Mid-Winter women's cash bonspiel at Nutana. "I thought about it for before the game," said More afterward, "but in a positive way. I figured the odds were in our favor to finally win one." Fate didn't seem to agree, at least not until very late in the "game, but More at long last was able to put on something other than a pained smile at the finish after outduelling Marilyn Bodogh of St.

Catherines, 8-6 in the championship final. This time her smile was the real thing. Other members of the winning rink from the Fort Garry Curling Club are third Donna Brownridge, Donna Brownridge of a curling season that has been fraught with disappointments. Certainly, More was getting exasperated by her failure to win a big game this season. Her curling sweater might as well have had a skull and crossbones on it.

Four times she had reached the final of one competition or another, and four times she had lost. But her confidence never ebbed. She was determined to win here. Chris More second Pat Malanchuk and lead Joan Bubbs. More has had many important victories in her curling career, including a Canadian championship in 1978, but chances are she will cherish this one among the best because of the circumstances.

For one thing, the victory was worth $6,000 the largest first-place prize in women's curling. For another, it helped erase the memory Joan Bubbs creme of women's curling. That More could bring the field to its knees in her condition made it all the more remarkable. "I was tired Friday night after our third game of the day," said More, "but I felt a lot stronger today." More, who qualified for the eight-rink championship round through the event, appeareoUo be headed for another major disappointment Vikettes still the of Canada West when she fell behind 6-4 after eight ends of the final against Bodogh, the two-time Ontario champ. But some dubious strategy by Bodogh on the ninth opened the door for More to score three and take control.

More had one stone partially buried in front of the button, but instead of peeling the front, Bodogh elected to freeze, hoping to hold the Winnipegers to one. She slipped by to the back of the house and More drew for two, although her second stone was open. Bodogh then gassed a hit and More was able to draw the full eight-foot for three. "The ninth end was the key," said Bodogh, who picked up $3,400 as runner-up. "If I make my first stone they probably just get one and we keep control." More advanced to the final by crushing Regina's Donna McNaughton 12-4 in the semi-finals.

Bodogh doubled Carolyn Mrack of Delisle 8-4 in the other semi-final. In a third-place playoff, Mrack edged McNaughton 7-6 in an extra end to earn $2,300. McNaughton won $1,800. In opening-round games of the championship event, More shaded Brenda Elder of Regina 7-6, Bodogh thumped Saskatoon's Lori McGeary 9-3, McNaughton edged Lindsay Sparkes of Vancouver 6-5 and Mrack trimmed Regina's Marilyn Cheyne 7-6. S-P Photo by Sallie Hunt defeated the Alberta Golden Bears 4-2.

Huskies, two-time defending conference champions, and Golden Bears meet in the first game of the best-of-three Canada West final 7:30 p.m. Friday at Rutherford Rink. Volleyball Victoria Vikings overcame a 2-0 deficit and defeated B.C. Thunderbirds 3-2 to capture their first ever CWUAA men's volleyball title. B.C.

finished first in the regular season, forcing Victoria to win two straight matches for the championship. B.C. lost the first match 3-1, but won the first two games of the deciding match 15-13 and 16-14 and led 5-0 in the third game. But Victoria rallied for a 15-8 victory and then recorded 15-8 and 15-6 decisions to clinch the title. Saskatchewan Huskies posted a 2-3 record in the final tournament and were 9-16 on the season.

Calgary Dinnies won the women's title for a second consecutive year with a 15-11, 14-16, 15-13, 15-7 win over B.C. Saskatchewan was 2-3 in the fifth and final tourney and 12-13 on the season for fourth place. Nancy Baker and Gisele Rongve of the Huskiettes were named to the first all-star team. FLORENCE By Bob Florence of the Star-Phoenix Victoria 70 Calgary 52 There was talk prior to the season that the Victoria Vikettes could be had. The dynasty, we were led to believe, was crumbling.

Parity had arrived on the women's basketball scene in the Canada West University Athletic Association. Parity indeed. There is little separating the Nos. 2 and 6 clubs in the But between No. 1 Victoria and any would-be challengers is one wide and deep chasm.

Vikettes won the CWUAA championship Saturday. Again. And through a 70-52 decision over Calgary Dinnies, Victoria dismissed any notion that the club is treading on wobbly knees. They are in a class by themselves. In a game to determine third place, the homecourt Saskatchewan Huskiettes downed Lethbridge-Lady Pronghorns 62-54.

Vikettes entered the season with two starting slots io fill following the graduation of All-Canadian forward Luanne Hebb and guard Leslie Godfrey. That alone raised suspicion if Victoria would be up to snuff. "People were saying who's going to do your scoring now that Hebb is gone?" coach Kathy Shields began. "Well what happened was the people who were scoring four to six points last year, began contributing 10 or 12. More people became in-, volved in the offence." If it wasn't Tracie McAra it was Sandy Espeseth.

If not Sandy Chambers, Jamie Mackie. The Victoria offence became one of ultimate dimension. Any and every Pat Malanchuk even though she was in the third month of a pregnancy that sapped some of her stamina. "It's meaningful to win anytime," said More, "but certainly this win is special. The money is nice but to win against a field like this makes it even better.

It was a super lineup of rinks." There's not much else you can say about the field, 32 hand-picked rinks representing the creme-de-la- Victoria's yet. When Mark Marter eased in a layup with 1:47 remaining, B.C. had carved the difference to the magical mark of six points. And along came Wilson. "We made just one minor offensive adjustment (at half time)," Vetrie says, "and it never started paying off 'til the end." The adjustment centred on Dave Wilson, a 6-foot-4 forward operating in mid-key range against T-Birds' zone defence.

Taking but two steps, Wilson had a clear lane near the head of the key, the same time freeing a man along the baseline. That's where Humbert scored four of his points. Wilson In turn drilled home a pair of buckets from in the paint, restoring a 10-point Huskie advantage. A couple of rebounds by senior John DeGoede and Saskatchewan had earned a trip to Calgary for the four-team conference playdowns. Wilson finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds, while Humbert contributed 10 points.

Bruce Holmes led B.C. with 13 points. Marter added 12 and Pat West 11. "We're off to Calgary," Vetrie said. "The season's a success." Hockey Bruce Keller scored three goals, giving him 14 on the season, as Saskatchewan Huskies completed the class courts points, Espeseth, Mackie and Godfrey 12 each.

On defence, it's the same machine. Victoria went principally man-to-man, matching Godfrey and McAra against Calgary kingpins Jane Adolphe and Julie Hendrix. Contain those two and you control the Dinnies' offence. Adolphe, the league scoring champion, and Hendrix managed 10 points apiece. Rebounds? Victoria held a 34-18 advantage, including a 29-10 edge defensively.

Cut any way, Vikettes dominated. Overcoming attrition, illness and a playoff format that offers no incentive for finishing first during the regular season, Vikettes will now head to Winnipeg on Tuesday to defend the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union title a third consecutive time. The line for all skeptics forms to the left. It's not expected ifi be a long one. Huskiettes 62 Lethbridge 54 Saskatchewan played percentage basketball, "18 of their 29 field goals coming the shadow of the backboard, as Sheryl Kleckner and Shelley Ready completed their col-' lege eligibility on a winning note.

Kleckner scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Huskiettes. Bonnie McAskill added 13 points and nine rebounds and Jay Kost contributed 10 points and eight rebounds. Lynn Lilja, Ingeborg Pot and Angela Hvlaka scored 14 points each for Lethbridge. In the Great Plains Athletic Conference championship, Winnipeg defeated Brandon 55-54 and 71-54. Brock captured the Ontario title with a 58-51 victory over Laurentian and New Brunswick, beat St.

Fran- cis Xavier 75-56 to win the Atlantic conference crown. says. "All I told them was to concentrate on was winning. I figured the rest would take care of itself." Leading 33-29 at halftime, T-Birds showed an inclination to simply exchange buckets in the second frame. They could afford to lose by five, and still win.

Huskies, meanwhile, were all too obliging. "It was unbelievable," Vetrie says. "We just couldn't get a break. We'd force a turnover, and give it right back to them. We'd grab a board and fail to convert.

We'd score and then they'd score. W7e just couldn't get over the hump." And so with seven minutes remaining, it was 52-50 Saskatchewan. But Beckie was hot. He'd scored 12 of Huskies last 17 points, all on jump shots near the head of the key. "Thing I was concerned about," Vetrie says, "is that with Beckie being hot, everybody else would just be standing around.

'Keep your motion I told them. 'All of a sudden a guy can go Not this night. Beckie dropped another, making it 54-50 Huskies. Then he snared a defensive rebound leading to a Rick Johnson jumper the baseline. Guard Paul Humbert followed with six consecutive points and it was 62-52 ith four minutes left.

Yet the T-Birds were not finished member could handle the scoring as the situation dictated. The Canada West playoffs clearly illustrated the point. Chambers, a consensus second-team all-star, had missed the entire week of practices with the flu. And so Susie Neil, the No. 6 player all season, earned her first start.

Friday the sophomore forward scored a team-high 18 points. In the championship, she had eight points and 10 rebounds. "What a blessing," Shields says. "She really got us going. A weekend like that kind of sets the stage for the future, both hers and ours." Then there was Mackie, a fifth-year forward who has never known anything less than a Canadian championship once with Lauren-tian, three times as a member of the Vikettes.

Against Calgary, she had 12 points and seven rebounds; 27 points and 14 boards for the weekend. "Her best weekend since the league (schedule) started," Shields said. "She opened strong in the exhibition schedule, but had been in a real slump since Christmas. This weekend, she broke out. Couldn't have come at a better time." Individuals playing as a team, this is what makes the Vikettes click.

Consider a three-minute section of the championship. McAra hits a jumper from the head of the key McAra feeds Mackie for a gimme two-pointer off the glass Mackie passes to Shelley Godfrey on an offside layup Espeseth connects on a jump shot from the base line Espeseth to McAra, again on the offside Mackie steals, passes to McAra for an uncontested layup. At times, it's pure poetry. A machine in motion. McAra would finish with 16 Gary Beckie the schedule with 3-7 records, but Huskies were awarded fourth place' on the basis of points for and against in two meetings with the T-Birds.

"We never talked about the six points," Huskies' coach Guy Vetrie Susie Neil sidesteps Calgary's Lynn Whan Sharpshooting Beckie leads Huskies into playoffs v. WW. Huskies 72 B.C. 59 Gary Beckie's final home game with the Saskatchewan Huskie basketball team will one day make for a dandy fish tale. Time does tend to exaggerate details.

But the facts alone provide quite a story: 29 points, eight-for-13 shooting in the second half, eight rebounds, you couldn't rehearse a better ending. But as the fifth-year guard left the Education gym floor Saturday amid backpats and 'way-da-go is was not as an individual mindful of singular accomplish- ment. "We made the playoffs," he wo- uld say. The goal had been realized, the team objective satisfied. Needing a win by six or more points, Huskies' 72-59 decision over British Columbia Thunderbirds clinched the fourth and final playoff position in the Canada West University Athletic Association.

At Edmonton, Victoria defeated the homecourt Alberta Golden Bears 83-61. "Making playoffs is the primary goal," Beckie had said prior to the regular-season opener, "and I think for us, it's realistic. Look." he said, opening a notebook, "I have it all figured out. Four wins will get us in. Maybe even three." Three it was.

Both Saskatchewan and British Columbia completed 4i 'ji'ii. Nancy Baker regular-season schedule with a 6-3 home-ice win over Calgary Dinosaurs. Marc Chart ier, Dick Kortje and Robin Bartel added singles for the 16-8 Huskies. At Edmonton, B.C. Thunderbirds -V -f.