Belisle falls short in playoff
Quebec rink ousted. Team Canada routs Montreal foursome
CP
Published: Saturday, March 04, 2006
After a series of small steps during the past year, Kelly Scott of Kelowna, B.C. made a giant leap yesterday – into tomorrow’s final of the Scott Tournament of Hearts.
Scott played a nearly flawless game in the 1 vs. 2 Page playoff against Nova Scotia’s Colleen Jones, the six-time Canadian women’s champion.
The difference was a steal of one in the fifth end for B.C. and another one in the eighth. The game ended 6-5 when Jones missed an angle raised takeout.
“We’re in the final. We’re one game away and we were like that a few months ago in December in Halifax and we know now what that feels like and what that’s all about,” said Scott, who will have today off.
“It was the best game I would say given the situation – given all the hype and some of the shots that were made,” Scott said.
Canada beat Quebec 10-4 last night in the 3 vs. 4 Page playoff, taking advantage of Montreal skip Eve Belisle’s young team with three points in the first end and another four in the third. Belisle’s foursome beat Newfoundland Labrador 8-2 during the fourth-place tiebreaker.
Under the Page system, a team who finished first or second gets a second chance to make the final, giving Colleen Jones a second shot at the final.
“The key is you just have to blow it off and say that was just practice and tomorrow we get to go again,” said Jones, who will face Jennifer Jones, the defending Canadian champion, in the semifinal game today (1 p.m., CBC).
Looking ahead to today, both Joneses offer mutual respect for each other’s rinks.
“They’re a great team,” said Jennifer Jones. “It’s going to be a great game and will likely come down to the last end and the last rock.”
“Jennifer’s team has got a lot of experience and they play hard every single end,” said Colleen Jones. “You know there’s going to be a lot of rocks in play and you know you’ve got to be there to make your shots.”
Scott, the former Canadian junior champion, has bounced back from adversity twice in the past year. After finishing second in the round-robin of the 2005 Scott in St. John’s, N.L., she was beaten in the semifinal by Ontario’s Jenn Hanna.
In December, Scott was poised to win the Canadian Olympic curling trials in Halifax. But with a lead going into the 10th end, Shannon Kleibrink scored three points and went on to win a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Scott is one game away from reaching her goal.
“Probably the trials was the first time we truly proved to ourselves how good we were and we want to do it again,” Scott said.
“I think we don’t want to hold back. We don’t want to waste five ends hitting it out. The last half of today’s game is likely what you’ll see on Sunday.”
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006
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Team Canada rolls past Quebec into semifinal
Friday, March 03, 2006
Source: Canadian Curling Association
Defending champ Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg sent a message to the other remaining hopefuls at Friday night at the Scott Tournament of Hearts Canadian women’s curling championship in London, Ont.
Jones and her Team Canada foursome — third Cathy Overton-Clapham, second Jill Officer and lead Georgina Wheatcroft — hammered Quebec’s Eve Belisle 10-4 at the John Labatt Centre to qualify for Saturday’s 1 p.m. (all times Eastern) semifinal on CBC against six-time champion Colleen Jones of Nova Scotia.
Team Canada opened the Page Playoff three-four game with three in the first end, and added four more in the third end and never looked back against the rookie Quebec squad, which earlier qualified for the playoffs by beating Newfoundland/Labrador’s Heather Strong 8-2 in a fourth-place tiebreaker.
Nova Scotia got into the semifinal after losing 6-5 to B.C.’s Kelly Scott in the Page Playoff one-two game Friday afternoon.
The semifinal victor will play B.C. in Sunday’s 12:30 p.m. (CBC) championship game.
The winner of Sunday’s final advances to the Ford world women’s championship, March 18 to 26 in Grande Prairie, Alta.
© 2004-2006 Canadian Curling Association. All rights reserved.
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