Homan rink sets sights on world title
weight on a few draws.
As in all sports, however, the headshaking misses only heighten the drama and make us appreciate all the more the jaw-dropping makes.
For instance, Englot and her team of third Kate Cameron, second Leslie Wilson and lead Raunora Scott continued their inexplicable, lategame affinity for scrounging points from unpromising ends with the hammer, and stealing points without it. That’s in part how they lost only one of 12 games before Sunday, and turned a 3-1 deficit after two ends on Sunday into a 4-3 lead entering the eighth.
Ontario lost a second lead (6-4) in the 10th, but still pulled out victory in the 11th.
IaskedHomanafterwardifsheand her three-time Canadian champions ever had to make so many clutch, unlikely shots to win a big game.
“I don’t think so,” Homan said. “Not for this stage, not for this kind of pressure, with that much on the line for us — no.”
Among the lasting takeaways from this thriller was the play of the thirds: Ontario’s Miskew and Manitoba’s Cameron. Each shot 86%.
The best example of their representative effectiveness came with their last throws in the most dramatic end, the 10th. Miskew wiped out two Manitoba stones for Ontario, which earned a thunderous cheer from most of the 4,143 on hand.
Cameron calmly answered by scattering the resultant two Ontario shot stones, to leave Manitoba sitting two.
Bam, bam: elite one-upmanship for any curling position, level, or gender. And this was the 25-year-old Cameron’s first Scotties, and fourth for the 28-year-old Miskew.