Jones into Scotties final after clobbering Cameron

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CALGARY — The all-Manitoba battle was over almost as soon it started.

Kate Cameron blinked and was in a 5-0 hole after the first end in Sunday afternoon’s women’s curling nationals semifinal against Jennifer Jones.

Calling it a nightmare start would be putting it mildly.

A few misses by Team Cameron opened the door for Jones to connect on a double takeout that ultimately served as an early knockout punch.

Jones went on to win 12-7 to move on to the gold medal game against Ontario’s Rachel Homan.

“Yeah, that was definitely the worst-case scenario. I think we tried to regroup and say, ‘Let’s score multiple, keep ourselves in the game and see what happens,’” said Cameron second Kelsey Rocque. “We did a good job of generating deuces from then on and somewhat staying in the game. Unfortunately, Kate’s (shot) just went to that perfect spot for Jen to have that double and we were behind the eight ball early.”

They responded with a pair in the second to make it 5-2 but that’s as close as the game ever got.

“The first end got away from us. I missed my two in that end which kind of put us back a bit and made Kate’s shots a little harder so that was a tough go and then I kind of just struggled throughout the entire game,” said third Meghan Walter, who curled at 61 per cent. Cameron’s foursome combined to shoot 74 per cent while Team Jones finished at 81 per cent.

“It’s tough, especially against a team like that. They’re not going to let a lead like that go easily.”

It was a disappointing ending to what was a breakout week for Cameron.

They weren’t pegged as a favourite on Day 1. After failing to reach last month’s Manitoba provincial final in Morden, they had to settle for qualifying based on their national ranking. Cameron also had to shuffle the lineup as second Taylor McDonald is eight and a half months pregnant, leading to Rocque — who plays for Assiniboine’s Beth Peterson — getting the last-minute call to fill in.

But Cameron, who spent nearly a decade honing her craft at third before putting this team together, showed she can throw last with the best curlers the country has to offer. She finished fourth in positional percentage behind the three biggest names at the event: Homan, Kerri Einarson, and Jones.

To get to championship Sunday, Cameron had to rattle off four consecutive must-win games, including an elimination victory over the reigning, four-time champs in Einarson.

“I think we turned a few heads and won a couple games people weren’t expecting. We knew that we could, we just had to stay in that mentality of one game at a time,” said Cameron, a 32-year-old from New Bothwell.

“Our backs have been up against the wall since Thursday morning, so I think it’s pretty impressive to make it to Sunday at this point. We’re happy, we wish could’ve changed that first end. I think it would have been a bit of a different game, but yeah, we’re happy.”

Cameron and McDonald recruited Walter and lead Mackenzie Elias this past offseason in the hopes of being a future Canadian contender. They showed this week they’re already there.

This is Cameron’s third career Scotties Tournament of Hearts medal. She earned her first bronze three years ago — which also happened to be in Calgary — playing third for Alberta’s Laura Walker. In 2017, Cameron settled for silver with Manitoba’s Michelle Englot after dropping the final to Homan.

“As much as that loss sucks right now, I think the girls are going to take a lot from that. I think that’s one of probably the biggest games they’ve played in and there’s lots to learn from this whole week that we can pull from,” said Cameron. “Going forward, it’s just going to help make us better.”

Jones agrees.

“I have a real soft spot for Kate. I think she’s just an awesome person and awesome competitor,” said Jones. “I love playing against them because they just love the game and I see great things for them in the future.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

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