VICTORIA, February 23, 2009 (CCA) — Team Canada finally played a full-length game at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Canadian women’s curling championship.
But the end result was just the same as their three previous shortened games — another victory for Jennifer Jones and her reigning Canadian and world championship team from Winnipeg.
After playing a total of 21 ends to win their first three games, Jones, third Cathy Overton-Clapham, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn Askin were taken to last rock by New Brunswick’s Andrea Kelly in Draw 7 Monday afternoon at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. But Jones had it, and she made a hack-weight takeout to score a game-winning deuce and a 5-3 win.
“I’m never nervous on the last one,” said Jones, who moved into a tie for first place at 4-0 with B.C.’s Marla Mallett, who had a bye. “It’s exciting, it’s fun, and you want to make a few of those as the week goes on. Whenever you have a big shot to capitalize, you want to make it, and that was a big shot for us. It felt good.”
New Brunswick dropped to 2-3 with the loss.
In other Draw 7 play, P.E.I.’s Rebecca Jean MacPhee salvaged a split of her Monday assignments with an 8-6 triumph over Atlantic Canada rival Nova Scotia, skipped by Nancy McConnery. P.E.I. stole a crucial three in the sixth end, then added a deuce in the eighth and never looked back en route to picking up its third win in five games. Nova Scotia dropped to 1-3.
Alberta’s Cheryl Bernard, meanwhile, stretched her win streak to three but needed an extra end to defeat Marie-France Larouche of Quebec 8-7. Bernard covered the pin with her last rock of the 11th end to improve to 3-1, while Quebec dropped to 3-2.
Manitoba’s Barb Spencer picked up her first win of the ’09 Scotties, but she had some nervous moments en route to the victory. Manitoba took a 7-2 lead through five ends, but a series of misses allowed Kerry Galusha of the Northwest Territories/Yukon to steal her way back in the game — two in the seventh end and singles in the eighth and ninth.
But in the 10th, Spencer made a hit-and-roll to the eighth-foot to score the winning point for an 8-7 triumph. Manitoba improved to 1-3, while the Territories wrapped up their Monday at 1-4.
Play at the Scotties wraps up with one more draw on Monday, at 10:30 p.m. (all times Atlantic) on TSN.
On Tuesday, draws are scheduled for 12:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 10:30 p.m Atlantic time. All three will be shown live on TSN, with the morning draw also available on TSN.ca. As well, archived footage from earlier draws is available for viewing at TSN.ca. PEI plays Newfoundland/Labrador and Alberta in two later draws on Tuesday.