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For a team that won just two games in its debut season in the B.C. inter-city league, it didn’t take long for the Victoria Rawlings to gel as a unit.
Led by Mary Coutts and newcomer Dianne Doyle, the club posted a major turnaround in year two, sweeping league, B.C. and Canadian championship honours in 1967-68.
They say repeating as a champion is always tougher, and the Victoria ladies, renamed the Maplettes, did so despite having only four returning players and a new coach, Jack Lusk. After an up-and-down season they peaked at the right time, earning second place with a key win over UVic, then dispatching the Vikettes for the league crown. After rolling to the B.C. title, Victoria won its second national banner on home court.
Two seasons later the Maplettes were a powerhouse, losing just one regular season game and representing B.C. at the 1971 Canada Winter Games. While they lost the gold to Ontario, they avenged the loss with a win in that year’s Canadian final.
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