MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Jennifer Jones is a win away from claiming a fifth Canadian women’s curling championship.
The Manitoba rink of Jones, third Kaitlyn Lawes, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn McEwen hung on to beat Alberta’s Val Sweeting 8-6 in Friday’s 1-versus-2 Page playoff game to advance to Sunday’s final.
“It’s exciting,” Jones said. “Who doesn’t like to play in a final? I was pleased with our team’s performance and it was a great week. We like playing in big games.”
The Olympic women’s curling champions scored four in the first end to seemingly grab control of the match before many of the 3,735 spectators at Mosaic Place were settled in their seats.
“Getting a four early … there is a lot of game left,” Jones said. “They played well and it came down to last rock.”
Sweeting was quite emotional after the loss. It was her third straight defeat since clinching a berth in the 1-versus-2 Page playoff game.
“It really sucks to lose three in a row,” Sweeting said. “We’re still in this and the dream is still alive. We need to shake that off and come back strong.”
Sweeting falls into Saturday’s semifinal, where she is to play the winner of the 3-versus-4 Page playoff game between Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Lawton and Team Canada’s Rachel Homan. The winner earns a date with Jones on Sunday, while the loser will play for bronze.
Sweeting, who was beaten 8-6 in last year’s Scotties final by Homan, chipped away at Jones’ lead, scoring one in the second end after drawing the four-foot to cut the lead to 4-1.
Sweeting made it 4-3 with a steal of one in the fourth end and stole another in the fifth when Jones was heavy on a delicate tap back that could have left her with two.
Jones regained some control with a draw for one in the sixth end and a 5-3 lead, but Sweeting completed the comeback with a draw for two in the seventh.
Jones then grabbed a 7-5 lead with a hit for two in the eighth end and forced Sweeting into taking one in the ninth to lead 7-6 with the hammer heading into the final frame.
Sweeting forced Jones to throw her last shot — a draw to four-foot — to ice the win.
Friday night’s playoff game was remarkably different from the final meeting of the veteran skips earlier that morning. Jones dominated the match, beating Sweeting 10-5 to finish in first place with a 10-1 record.
Jones is bidding to become Manitoba’s first national women’s champion since she won it in 2010.
Alberta’s last national women’s championship was in 2012 when Heather Nedohin captured the title.
The Canadian champion advances to the women’s world championship, March 14-22 in Sapporo, Japan.
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Source:: http://www.canada.com/sports/curling/Jones+returns+Scotties+final/10831226/story.html
