Spencer rebounds at Scotties after Thursday loss

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This article was published 22/01/2016 (3784 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BEAUSEJOUR, Man. – The heat is on at the 2016 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts, where Barb Spencer snagged a big win Friday morning to keep her playoff hopes alive.

After a disastrous loss to Thompson’s Jennifer Rolles on Thursday night, Spencer rebounded to topple her sister Darcy Robertson 9-2 in eight ends. The decision leaves Spencer and Robertson both sitting at 3-2 on the week, with two games left to play.

Also in that mix is Lisa Menard, the Dauphin skip whose first-year team upset Spencer in their first game of the week. Menard followed that up by upsetting Robertson 7-5 on Thursday night, and edging Rolles 10-6 on Friday morning.

On top of their Extreme Force round robin group, second seed Kerri Einarson continued her upward trajectory, defeating Cathy Overton-Clapham 8-5 on Friday morning. It was the first loss on the week for Overton-Clapham, who is now tied with Einarson at 4-1 on the week.

With two more games left, Einarson is honing in on capturing a spot in the 1-vs-1 game for the third year in a row. “This one was pretty huge,” Einarson said after the win. “We needed to bring Cathy down to where we are. It’s huge. If we can just win our next two, we should clinch first.

“We were pumped to play them, just because they hadn’t had a loss yet. They’ve had some good games, so it was good to come out and put pressure on them.”

Yes, this means possible tiebreakers are looming large. But the group will get another chance to shake out the standings at 4 p.m. on Friday. That draw will pit Einarson against Spencer and Overton-Clapham against Robertson.

It’s a do-or-die moment for Spencer and Robertson. If both of them lose tonight, they will both be out of playoff contention. Other scenarios – the picture will look clearer tonight — could lead to tiebreakers.

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Meanwhile, the Asham round robin group, which includes top seed Kristy McDonald and fourth seed Michelle Montford, will play their first draw at 12:15 p.m. on Friday.

The 2016 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts continues through the weekend, with playoffs set to begin on Saturday night. The top page playoff, semifinal and Sunday afternoon final are set to be televised on applicable Sportsnet channels.

Melissa Martin
Reporter-at-large

Melissa Martin reports and opines for the Winnipeg Free Press.

Every piece of reporting Melissa produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.