Big win pushes B.C. into contenton

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Ryan Remiorz / the canadian press B.C. skip Kelly Scott pulled off a crucial triumph over P.E.I. Wednesday night. (CP)

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KINGSTON, ONT. -- Team Manitoba West is alive and well here at the 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

The B.C. foursome that's made up of three Manitobans -- skip Kelly Scott, second Sasha Carter and lead Sarah Wazney -- got a huge win over P.E.I. Wednesday night, cracking a deuce in the ninth end and then stealing one more in the tenth to escape with a 9-8 win.

The win bumped B.C. into a tie with Saskatchewan's Jill Shumay for the fourth and final playoff spot at 4-3 and kept B.C. in the equation at an event that has to this point been dominated by Manitoba and Ontario -- both 7-0 -- and 6-1 Team Canada.

"Every time you get through to playoffs at an event like this," Scott mused afterward, "you have a game like that during the round robin that you look back afterward and say, 'That was maybe a turning point' or 'That was the game that got us into this position in playoffs.' "

Wednesday night's win also came despite the continuing absence of Wazney, who's missed B.C.'s last three games with a suspected case of food poisoning but is expected to be back in the lineup today.

"That was a mandatory win," said Carter, adding her team is undaunted by the manner in which Canada, Manitoba and Ontario have pulled away from the pack. "Anything can happen during the week. I think we look at the round robin and just want to make the playoffs. Playing in the 1-2 game would be a bonus and that's probably not in our future.

"But as long as we make playoffs, I think it's hard to keep momentum going for eight days straight like some of these other teams are trying to do."

Scott, Carter and third Jenna Schraeder won a pair of Canadian titles together in 2006 and 2007 and were also runners-up to Heather Nedohin at this event last year.

While they are tied with Saskatchewan at 4-3, it bears noting that Saskatchewan has lost three in a row after a 4-0 start and appears to be in free-fall.

New Brunswick's Andrea Crawford and P.E.I.'s Suzanne Birt are also still in the playoff picture at 4-4, as is Nova Scotia's Mary-Anne Arsenault, who is now 3-4 after an 0-4 start.

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Alberta's Kristie Moore finally recorded her first win of this event Wednesday evening, a 9-3 shellacking of N.W.T.'s Kerry Galusha.

The win came as a huge relief to Moore, who pulled herself out of her team's lineup versus Manitoba Tuesday night after a dreadful 0-5 start had some observers wondering if a powerhouse curling province like Alberta was in danger of going winless this week.

Fifth Renee Sonnenberg skipped the Alberta team Tuesday to what proved to be their sixth straight loss this week, but Moore put herself back into the lineup for the game against N.W.T.

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It's said figures lie and liars figure but the numbers here speak the truth.

Manitoba, Canada and Ontario lead the standings and they also lead in every category of shooting percentages. At lead, Manitoba's Dawn Askin leads (86 per cent) followed by Ontario's Lisa Weagle and Canada's Laine Peters in a tie (83 per cent). At second, Ontario's Allison Kreviazuk leads (85 per cent), followed by Manitoba's Jill Officer (83 per cent) in second and Canada's Jessica Mair in third (81 per cent). At third, Manitoba's Kaitlyn Lawes leads (82 per cent), Canada's Beth Iskiw is second (81 per cent) and Ontario's Emma Miskew is tied for third at 77 per cent. At skip, Ontario's Rachel Homan leads (87 percent), followed by Manitoba's Jennifer Jones (85 percent) and Canada's Heather Nedohin (82 percent).

And as a team, Manitoba leads at 84 per cent, followed by Ontario at 82 per cent and Canada at 81 per cent.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 21, 2013 D4