Jones comes through in clutch against Homan

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This article was published 20/02/2023 (978 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TWO of Kerri Einarson’s biggest threats to her historic reign battled it out on Monday afternoon in a game with major playoff implications.

While Einarson and Team Canada celebrated a convincing 9-3 win over Prince Edward Island’s Suzanne Birt to remain perfect at 4-0 at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kamloops, B.C., Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones and Ontario’s Rachel Homan were neck and neck a few sheets over.

The game was decided by the final shot, as Jones hit a clutch takeout to score two to come away with a 6-4 victory. The win pushed Jones to 3-1 and in a three-way tie with Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville and Kerry Galusha of Northwest Territories for the top spot in Pool B.

The loss left Homan at 2-2. She was facing Team Yukon late Monday.

Einarson, the three-time defending champion, and the 18-team field’s only undefeated group, sat on top of Pool A heading into Monday’s late draw against Nova Scotia’s Christina Black (3-1).

The championship round, featuring the top three teams from each pool, begins Friday.

Jones has now won three straight after losing her opener to McCarville on Saturday.

“Yeah, it was a massive win for us. It’s a really tough pool, a tight pool, with lots of great teams and we knew we were gonna have to limit the number of losses, so we really wanted to come in and find a way to win that game and we found a way to do it,” Jones told the Free Press after the game.

Jones and Homan are now tied at 5-5 when playing each other at the Canadian women’s curling championship. Homan, who throws the last rocks but has Tracy Fleury handling skip duties, entered the week at No. 2 in the Canadian Team Ranking System behind Einarson. Jones is ranked third, followed by her former teammate, Wild Card No. 1 Kaitlyn Lawes.

“Obviously (Homan’s a) great team. They’re just an exceptionally talented team and you’re going to have to play your very best to have a chance to beat them,” said Jones.

“I think they feel the same way about us so it’s always fun to play them. It’s usually a great game and comes down to the last rock which is all you can ask for.”

Jones, third Karlee Burgess, second Mackenzie Zacharias, and alternating leads Emily Zacharias and Lauren Lenentine return to the rink this morning to take on Galusha.

Jones honouring late friend

For over three decades, Jim Young operated the camera for TSN at major sporting events, including curling. Young, a Winnipegger, died in November at the age of 60 after a battle with cancer.

Jones has been wearing a pin with the initials ‘JY’ this week to honour her longtime friend. It’s her first time at the Scotties without Young.

“He was the main camera guy usually on ice, so he became family to me. You just become friends, like you’re here so many years, and they’re just tremendous people,” said Jones.

“He gave the best hugs. The absolute best hugs. I remember when his dad was sick in the hospital and him and I saw each other, I gave his dad a call and Jim never forgot that. He was just an amazing human being and I’m feeling very grateful that I had the opportunity to have him in my life.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31