Canada’s Jones wins playoff tuneups at women’s world curling playdowns
An impressive round-robin record doesn’t necessarily mean Canada’s Jennifer Jones is a lock to win a world championship for the first time in a decade.
The Winnipeg team will need to clean up a few areas for a clear path to the podium.
Jones (12-0) has had inconsistent draw weight throughout the competition at the North Bay Memorial Gardens. It was a factor again Friday morning in an 8-5 win over Japan’s Tori Koana.
Jones shot 79 per cent — the lowest percentage on her team — and it kept Japan in the game. She was just 73 per cent on her draws.
Canada’s overall performance was solid but far from spectacular. It has been a consistent theme through the week.
“We’re making big shots when we have to,’’ Jones said. “That’s really what winning is all about.’’
Jones has stepped up when needed and is the No. 1 seed in the six-team playoff. She will have choice of hammer or stone selection in semifinal play Saturday night.
Canada kept its unbeaten streak alive Friday night with an 8-5 win over American Jamie Sinclair in the roundrobin
finale.
Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg (10-2) owns the other semifinal berth. South Korea’s EunJung Kim (8-3), Russia’s Victoria Moiseeva (7-5), the U.S., (6-6) and Anna Kubeskova of the Czech Republic (6-6) locked up the other playoff spots.
China’s Yilun Jiang (6-6) also finished with a .500 record but did not advance due to losses in head-to-head matchups.
On Saturday morning, No. 3 South Korea will play the sixthseeded Americans while No. 4 Russia meets the fifth-seeded Czechs. Canada will play the lower-seeded victor in one
semifinal while Sweden will play the other winner in the afternoon.
Jones started strong last weekend by knocking off some tournament lightweights with relative ease. She later withstood challenges from South Korea, Sweden and Russia — in successive draws — despite some nervous moments.
Second Jill Officer skipped Friday morning’s game to rest after coming out early the day before. She was replaced by alternate Shannon Birchard before returning for the night game.
Canada has done well putting pressure on its opponents. The host side, which includes lead Dawn McEwen and third Kaitlyn Lawes, entered the last draw with a competition-best force efficiency of 70 per cent.
One big factor that you won’t find on the stat sheet is what could be called the Jones effect. It may be in play over the final weekend.
The 2014 Olympic champion is an imposing presence on the ice, anchoring the top-ranked women’s team in the world. It can make opposing skips crumble in the later ends when the game is on the line.
A boisterous home crowd will make things even tougher for Canada’s opposition over the weekend.
It likely won’t be an issue for second-seeded Hasselborg, who beat South Korea’s Garlic Girls in the pressure cooker of the Olympic final in Pyeongchang.
On Friday morning, Jones scored three points in the third end and took an 8-2 lead by stealing a pair in the sixth. Japan picked up three straight singles before Jones ran Koana out of stones in the ninth end.
“We’re happy with it,’’ said national team coach Elaine Dagg-Jackson. “It wasn’t the best game we played all week, but it was certainly good enough.’’
Dagg-Jackson said Officer has battled some blister issues but would play through them.