The U Sports Women's Basketball Championship , branded as the Women's Basketball Final 8 , is a Canadian university basketball tournament conducted by U Sports , and determines the women's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports conferences. The Bronze Baby trophy is awarded to the winners.
16-528: Seventeen different schools have won the tournament. The University of Victoria has the most tournament wins, with nine. Laurentian University has seven championships. The University of British Columbia has taken the title six times, while the University of Windsor and Simon Fraser University have five apiece. Carleton University , the University of Winnipeg , and University of Manitoba have each won three championships, while Bishop's University and
32-813: A Canada West conference All-Star and CIAU All-Canadian in every season. Winning the Nan Copp Player of the Year Award in 1987, it marked the crowning touch to her athletic sojourn at the University of Victoria. The 1986-87 season would also mark a finale for Janet Fowler. In her final season, she averaged 17.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Earning the Most Valuable Player Award of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (now U Sports) Championship Tournament,
48-751: A figure that is a replica of a statue that was in the grounds of Dunfermline College of Physical Education in Scotland. The trophy was first donated in 1922 by the Students' Council of McGill University and awarded to the Ontario and Quebec conference champion of the Women's Interuniversity Athletic Union (WIAU). After the WIAU amalgamated with the Ontario Women's Interuniversity Athletic Union (OWIAA) in 1971,
64-654: A member of the National Cycling Team at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. The Vikes captured their last Bronze Baby trophy in 2003. The first time that the program hosted the National Championships was in 1993, finishing as the runner-up versus the University of Winnipeg. After eight seasons, head coach Dani Sinclair stepped down as head coach of the Vikes in March 2020. In her last season,
80-512: A side note, the facility also hosted the 1993 CIS women's basketball national championships and a 1999 Vancouver Grizzlies NBA intra-squad game. Kathy Shields , the most accomplished head coach in program history, captured 15 Canada West titles (1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000), along with eight national championships (1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1991, 1997, 1999). Of note, eight of her former players and assistant coaches became head coaches at
96-703: The COVID-19 pandemic . The championship consists of an eight-team single-elimination tournament. Four teams automatically qualify for the tournament as one of the winners of the four conferences , two qualify as the runners-up of both the OUA and Canada West conference, one qualifies as the host, and one is given an at-large berth. ^ A. The Simon Fraser Clan were members of the CIS (now U Sports ) from 2001 to 2010. Victoria Vikes women%27s basketball The Victoria Vikes women's basketball team represent
112-445: The University of Saskatchewan have won two. Seven programs have one national championship. The tournament was originally composed of just four qualifying teams from 1972 to 1976 until it was expanded to include six in 1977. The championship was then changed to include eight teams in 1979 and has generally remained the same since then. In the 2011 edition, the then-named CIS had West, Central, and East regional play-in games to determine
128-588: The University of Victoria in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association of U Sports women's basketball . The Vikes have captured the Bronze Baby , awarded to the U Sports National Champions, a record nine times. The McKinnon Building and Gym was the former home of the Vikes, and the basketball court itself was named "Ken and Kathy Shields Court" in 2002, honouring the Vikes legendary basketball coaches. As
144-672: The 2019 Winter Universiade. Awarded to the Coach of the Year Awarded to the Player of the Year In celebration of the centennial anniversary of U SPORTS women’s basketball, a committee of U SPORTS women’s basketball coaches and partners revealed a list of the Top 100 women's basketball players. Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first Canadian university women’s contest between
160-467: The Queen’s Gaels and McGill Martlets on Feb. 6, 1920, the list of the Top 100 was gradually revealed over four weeks. A total of 11 Vikes were named to the Top 100. Tracie McAra Tracie McAra (born 20 November 1960) is a Canadian basketball player. She competed in the women's tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics . This biographical article relating to a Canadian basketball figure
176-407: The Vikes were 12-8. Throughout her career, the Vikes amassed 105 wins, compared only to 59 losses. In May 2021, the Vikes hired former UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball player and coach Carrie Watts to be their new head coach. Having played for Debbie Huband at UBC, Watts captured the Bronze Baby trophy in 2004. Among her coaching achievements, Watts was an assistant coach for Team Canada at
SECTION 10
#1732800968488192-480: The Vikes were 28-2 in conference play during the season. Having played with the Vikes from 1981–85, hoisting the Bronze Baby twice, Sandy Espeseth returned for her final year in 1987-88. Leading the Vikes to a record of 18 wins, compared to 2 losses, Espeseth earned CIS First Team All-Canadian honors, averaging 12.4 points per game and a career-high 3.5 rebounds per game. Espeseth would later compete for Canada as
208-574: The decade also saw three more national title performances. Arriving at the University of Victoria in 1979, Tracie McAra would be part of a five-year run that saw the Vikes win 102 games, while losing only 14. Winning the Bronze Baby in three consecutive years (1980–82), the achievement complemented by four consecutive Canada West conference titles (1979–82). Between 1985 and 1987, the Vikes would appear in three straight Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (now U Sports) gold medal games, winning in 1985 and 1987. During that stretch, Lori Clarke emerged as
224-426: The three remaining spot in the tournament (the other five went to the four conference champions and host). In 2012, there were East and West regional games to determine two additional berths and by 2013 the league had reverted to voting in the three remaining spots. Aside from those two years of regional qualifiers, the tournament has always taken place over one weekend at a pre-determined host site. The trophy features
240-563: The trophy was retired and returned to McGill. The trophy was then offered to the Canadian Women's Interuniversity Athletic Union (CWIAU) in 1972 to be competed for at a fully national level. The CWIAU merged with the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU), the men's union, in 1978 and awarded by the now-named U Sports governing body. The 2021 championship tournaments were cancelled due to
256-454: The university level. Winning 320 out of 371 regular season games, Shields was bestowed the Order of Canada in 2016. Beginning in 1975, the Vikes enjoyed a run of dominance that lasted until 1987. Enjoying 10 Canada West titles, along with five national titles, the 1990s would see a return to prominence. Highlighted by seven conference titles, including six consecutive, spanning from 1994 to 2000,
#487512