Canadian Curling Association – King crowned at Strauss Canada Cup
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Source: Canadian Curling Association
KAMLOOPS, February 4, 2006…Cathy King of Edmonton claimed the throne at the Strauss Canada Cup on Saturday, defeating the reigning Canadian champion, Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, 10-9 in a wild women’s final at the Interior Savings Centre.
The game went down to last rock, when Jones, who made a miracle shot to win the Scott Tournament of Hearts in St. John’s almost a year ago, tried a very difficult angle double raise takeout in an attempt to score a deuce and force an extra end. However, she was only able to count one, as King became the queen of the ‘Cup’.
For the victory, King earned a total of $36,500, composed of $33,500 for the win, plus $3,000 for her four round robin wins at $750 each.
The final was chock full of big ends. Jones notched two three-enders while King took a triple of her own and three deuces along the way.
“I’m not surprised (that the team played well after provincials),” said the 46-year-old King. “This team has great potential. It was just a matter of how we could come back after them getting that three – it was a wild game. It’s a great confidence-builder and I thought we were doing good after last weekend.”
It began with Jones drawing for three in the second for a 3-1 lead after King wrecked on an attempted hit. King came back with a deuce in the third. In the fourth, Jones, staring at four opponent red rocks in the rings, drew for one to retain the lead, now 4-3.
But in the fifth end, King moved a Jones stone enough to count three on a measure and take a 6-4 lead at the break. After a Jones single in the sixth and King double in the seventh, Jones rallied once again, when King touched a guard, leaving Jones a hit and stay for three to knot the final at 8.
In the ninth, King was able to hit and roll for a deuce to again take the lead, but only after third Lori Armitstead had made a triple to clean up some serious trouble brewing in the house. King then hung on in the 10th. The shooting percentages told a different story. Jones outcurled King, 80%-69%, while the Jones team held an 82%-77% advantage. So much for stats.
On Armitstead’s triple in the ninth, King added, “It was huge. I told her when the game finished that that was the game-winning shot, right there. You don’t make that, we’re either taking one (and giving up hammer in the 10th) or giving up a whole pile. There were some misses back and forth, but it’s good if you can win it when you’re not playing your best.”
King, who finished third at the 1998 Ford Worlds here after winning the Scott Tournament of Hearts in Regina that year, is on some kind of roll.
Along with Armitstead, second Raylene Rocque and lead Tracy Bush, the Saville Centre foursome has won 21 of its last 22 games…eight while going unbeaten at the recently-concluded provincial championship, seven in zones and city playdowns and six of seven here at the Strauss….her only loss coming at the hands of Kelowna’s Kelly Scott, 8-6 in her second game.
Ironically, King will meet a number of her Strauss rivals once again later this month when the Tournament of Hearts begins February 25 in London, including Team Canada’s Jennifer Jones, British Columbia’s Kelly Scott, Manitoba’s Janet Harvey of Winnipeg and Heather Strong of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. For King, a two-time Canadian junior champion as well, it will be her seventh Scott appearance.
King had completed the round robin in first place in Section B with a 4-1 record, then met her provincial rival, Renée Sonnenberg of Grande Prairie, in the A1 vs B1 game Friday afternoon. It was no contest as King won 10-4 to advance to today’s final.
Jones, on the other hand, had to claw her way to the final after finishing the round robin with a 3-2 mark. But her St. Vital Curling Club team was also red-hot coming into the final, having won six games in a row after dropping its first two matches.
On Friday, Jones beat Scott in a tie-breaker, then Sandy Comeau of Moncton in the A2 vs B2 game and finally Sonnenberg in last night’s semi-final to arrive at Saturday’s showdown.
“It just wasn’t meant to be, “ said Jones, who still picked up $24,250 for the week. “Sometimes you’re just not sharp, and today was one of those days where we just weren’t as sharp as we’ve been.”
© 2004-2006 Canadian Curling Association. All rights reserved.
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