Homan stays unbeaten at Scotties
MONTREAL — Rachel Homan finally faced adversity at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
And the Team Canada skip emerged from it with a comeback 7-6 victory over Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Lawton on Thursday at the Maurice Richard Arena.
“It was a really good game,” said Homan, who was taken to the 10th end for the first time in the tournament. “Fun for the fans and fun for us to get a lot of rocks in play.
“It was a tough battle to get control of the game back and force a mistake in the last end.”
Homan’s Ottawa rink plowed through its first eight games, outscoring its opponents by a combined 71-30, but it wasn’t that easy against Lawton (8-2).
Homan wrecked on a guard to let Lawton score three in the second end. Canada got two back in the third and another two in the seventh to make it 5-5.
It was Lawton’s turn to miss in the eighth with a draw that went a little long to give Homan her first lead with a steal of one. Lawton tied it in the ninth, but Homan had the hammer in the final end.
She still hasn’t had to throw a 10th-end last rock because Lawton’s final steal attempt fell just short.
“That wasn’t our strongest game as a team,” said Lawton. “We can pick it up.
“Rachel’s team played great and put pressure on us. We can fine-tune a few of those shots and make them better.”
Homan continued her torrid pace at the Scotties in her next game. A 9-4 win over Newfoundland’s Heather Strong in the late draw moved the Homan rink to a perfect 10-0 with one draw remaining.
Lawton also got back on the winning track with an 8-4 win in eight ends over Kesa Van Osch of B.C. Key in the Lawton victory was a steal of three in the sixth end that gave her a 6-2 lead. She sealed the game with a steal of two more in the seventh.
Manitoba’s Chelsea Carey (8-1) clinched a playoff spot with a 9-8 win over Ontario’s Allison Flaxey on a point in an extra end. She also took over sole possession of the second place, pushing Lawton to third.
“That’s step one — making the playoffs,” said Carey. “Now we’ll try for the 1-versus-2 game, but as long as I’m in the playoffs I’m a happy camper.”
Carey had a late game against Val Sweeting of Alberta that was not complete at press time. In other late action it was Ontario’s Flaxey (3-7) losing 5-3 to Quebec’s Allison Ross (2-9).
Other afternoon matches saw New Brunswick’s Andrea Crawford (6-4) keep her hopes alive with a 5-4 win over the Yukon’s Sarah Koltun (1-9), and P.E.I.’s Kim Dolan (3-7) earned a 7-5 decision over Nova Scotia’s Heather Smith (3-7).
Flaxey started the Scotties 1-5, but emerged as a spoiler Wednesday with victories over Alberta and the Yukon.
She gave Carey a scare with a three in the sixth and another two in the eighth for a 7-5 lead. But Carey rallied with three in the ninth and held Flaxey to one in the 10th to force an extra end.
In the morning draw, Alberta’s Sweeting earned a 10-3 win in eight ends over Quebec’s Ross.
Ross opened with the hammer, but Sweeting (7-3) had steals of two, three and two points over the first three ends for a commanding 7-0 lead before Quebec scored one in the fourth.
The other early game saw Van Osch of B.C. (6-4) claim a 7-3 victory over Strong of Newfoundland (4-6).
In the final draw on Friday, Saskatchewan’s Lawton faces Yukon’s Koltun while Homan will look to complete her perfect round robin record against Crawford of New Brunswick. Carey will face Dolan and Flaxey closes with a game against Smith.