The University of Winnipeg has announced that Women's basketball will be on centre stage as the Wesmen Classic arrives once again.
Wesmen Athletics has officially unveiled the eight-team tournament bracket, ticket information and the annual Ring of Honour inductees that will highlight the 57th running of the annual Winnipeg holiday sports tradition.
The Wesmen Classic will be played Dec. 28-30 with four games each day, culminating in the championship game at 8 p.m. on Dec. 30.
In addition to the Wesmen women's team serving as hosts, we are excited to welcome teams from five provinces spanning nearly 4,000 kilometres of Canadian basketball.
Coming to the Duckworth Centre will be:
- Brandon Bobcats
- Fraser Valley Cascades
- Guelph Gryphons
- Manitoba Bisons
- Mount Royal Cougars
- Regina Cougars
- Thompson Rivers Wolfpack
SCHEDULE
TICKET INFO
Basketball fans can attend all three days of the Classic by purchasing a tournament pass for the low price of $30. Day passes for the 28th and 29th will be sold for $10 and a day pass for the 30th will sell for $15.
All UWinnipeg students will get in free, as will children under 12. Students under 18 can get in for $10 each day.
Tickets can be purchased online now.
All games will also be live streamed on the Wesmen Athletic YouTube Channel.
RING OF HONOUR
Women's basketball was the featured sport during the 2018 Classic and was the inaugural year of the Wesmen Ring of Honour.
This year, four Wesmen women's basketball legends will have their names elevated into the Ring as they are honoured for their contributions to the program and the department.
Angie Johnson, 1971-1977
The Wesmen's first superstar, Johnson played five seasons with the Wesmen and led the team to two national medals. A national tournament all-star in 1974, Johnson was named one of U Sports top 100 players in 2020. She also had an illustrious international career, suiting up for Canada in the World University Games, World Championship for Women, the Pan-Am Games and the 1976 Olympics.
Deb Steele, 1977-1980
A transfer from the Saint Mary's Huskies, the 6-foot-6 Steele became an instant impact player and spent three seasons setting records for the Wesmen. She helped Winnipeg to three national tournaments and three GPAC titles, with the Wesmen winning silver at the CWIAU championship in 1978. She averaged 15.8 rebounds per game in 1979-80, which still stands as the Wesmen program record, and her 29 rebounds against Regina on Nov. 24, 1979 remain the most in program history for a single game.
Beth Cochran, 1982-1987
A five-time all-Canadian, Cochran was named one of U Sports top 100 players of all time in 2020 after a career in which she led the Wesmen to four national tournaments and a CIAU silver in 1984. A prolific scorer, she averaged more than 20 points per game for her career and remains No. 2 on the Wesmen all-time scoring list. A 6-foot-1 one post, she also put up remarkable rebounding numbers, averaging 14.4 a game in 1982-83, which ranks second all-time in Wesmen program history.
Michelle (Chambers) Foreman, 1988-1993
A foundational member of the signature Wesmen dynasty, Chambers joins her teammate Sandra Carroll and former coach Tom Kendall (Class of 2018) in the Ring of Honour.
Chambers helped the Wesmen to four CIAU tournaments and two GPAC championships. In 1992, when she was a GPAC all-star, the Wesmen were CIAU silver-medallists, and the team finally broke through for the program's first national title in 1993, when Chambers was named tournament MVP.
THREE-ON-THREE TOURNAMENT
Wesmen Athletics and Wesmen Basketball are excited to announce a new addition to this year's festivities with a high school three-on-three tournament that will run throughout the tournament during halftimes of Classic games.
The tournament will be an eight-team draw starting with two pools of round robin, followed by a single-elimination playoff bracket including a championship and third-place game. Each game will be eight minutes in duration.
WESMEN CLASSIC T-SHIRT
Once again, a special Wesmen Classic t-shirt has been commissioned for the tournament and will be sold on-site and online. You can get your Classic 'T' for $18 at the UWinnipeg Bookstore online now.
HARVEST MANITOBA
Throughout the tournament, we will be accepting donations of non-perishable food items for Manitoba Harvest. Bins will be placed near the admissions desk on the second floor of the Duckworth Centre.
Source: https://wesmen.ca/sports/2024/12/9/wesmen-classic-57.aspx