Great Scott! Jones wins!

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This article was published 03/02/2010 (5965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Jennifer Jones and Kelly Scott got their curling starts in Winnipeg, joined forces for a year in junior and then went their separate ways.

They have since become the standard by which greatness is measured at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Since 2005, no one other than Jones or Scott has guided a team to the Canadian women’s curling title. During that time, they’ve had some epic battles on arena ice and in front of the TSN cameras, with Scott holding a 5-2 edge in head-to-head play prior to the 2010 event.

On Tuesday afternoon, Jones, the skip of two-time defending Scotties champion Team Canada, won the latest clash with Scott, posting a 10-7 victory here at the Essar Centre.

Jones, with third Cathy Overton-Clapham, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn Askin, improved to 5-2 in round-robin play, tied for second place with Kathy O’Rourke of Prince Edward Island behind red-hot Ontario.

B.C. dropped to 4-3, tied with Manitoba’s Jill Thurston and Quebec’s Eve Belisle.

Scott actually defeated Thurston 7-5 on the morning draw Tuesday.

Ontario’s Krista McCarville hammered O’Rourke 9-3 on Tuesday night to stand alone in first place at 6-1 heading into today’s play.

Four teams make the Page playoff system, which begins Friday. The championship game goes Sunday at 1:30 p.m., with the winning team qualifying for the Ford world championship in Swift Current, Sask., March 20-28.

Jones, who beat Alberta’s Valerie Sweeting 9-7 on the morning draw, came out firing against Scott in the afternoon, forcing B.C. to take a point in the first end before generating a huge four of their own in the second end to seize control.

Following the loss, Scott, the 2006 Canadian and 2007 world champion, admitted there’s a healthy rivalry between the two, who played — and lost– together at the 1991 Canadian junior women’s championship with the buffalo on their backs.

"Oh ya …Canadian champions, world champions, you want to see how you measure up," said Scott, who is already anticipating a possible rematch with Jones before things wrap up in the Soo.

"…We do hope to see them again."

Scott is joined on B.C. by third Jeanna Schraeder, second Sasha Carter and Jacquie Armstrong.

The 32-year-old, who lives and curls in Kelowna, even knows how the competitive season series stands between her and Jones, her former junior skip.

"We’re 2-2 this year …we’re neck and neck," she said, with a grin.

Jones, 34, who won her first national title in 2005, is gunning for a three-peat after staking claim to the 2008 and ’09 Scotties crowns.

Jones said she didn’t even realize the dominance of the two teams until someone mentioned it in casual conversation last week. "It’s kind of neat," she said. "Obviously, they’re a great team and we have a ton of respect for them. It’s always fun to play them. We always have good games."

Jones repeated how much fun she’s having at the Scotties. But the occasional shrugs and looks of dismay suggest it’s not all smooth sailing. Clearly, the team’s inconsistent play at times, highlighted by dreadful losses Monday to Northwest Territories and Newfoundland-Labrador, has her irritated.

"We’re still missing shots we’d like to have back," said Jones, who, at 74 per cent this week, is just sixth-best among skips. "You can always play better. We’ve been giving up too many steals."

Thurston, meanwhile, said she is not unhappy with Manitoba’s record. She’s joined by third Kristen Phillips, second Leslie Wilson and lead Raunora Westcott.

"…4-3 is pretty good, I think. Everybody is kind of bunched up in the middle there," she said. "There’s a couple of teams that might run away with something, but we play our cards right and we win a few more we might get into a tie-breaker at least."

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Standings

 

McCarville (Ont.) 6 1

O’Rourke (P.E.I.) 5 2

Jones (Canada) 5 2

Scott (B.C.) 4 3

Thurston (Manitoba) 4 3

Belisle (Que.) 4 3

Holland (Sask.) 3 4

Sweeting (Alta.) 3 4

Kelly (N.B.) 3 4

Nichols (N.L.) 2 5

Cormier (NWT/Y) 2 5

McConnery (N.S.) 1 6

 

TUESDAY RESULTS

 

Draw 9

P.E.I. 7 N.S. 4

B.C. 7 Manitoba 5

N.B. 7 NWT/Y 5 (extra end)

Canada 9 Alta. 7

 

Draw 10

Manitoba 7 Alta. 4

Ont. 8 Nfld/Lab. 5

Canada 10 B.C. 7

Sask. 8 Que. 6

 

Draw 11

Que. 6 NWT/Y 5

N.B. 8 Sask. 7

Ont. 9 P.E.I. 3

N.S. 7 Nfld/Lab. 6

 

LINESCORES

 

Sweeting 200 012 011 0 —- 7

Jones 012 200 300 1 —- 9

 

Scott 010 210 101 1 — — 7

Thurston 101 002 010 0 — 5

 

Sweeting 002 100 001 X — 4

Thurston 110 012 110 X — 7

 

Scott 101 021 002 0 — 7

Jones 040 200 210 1 — 10

 

TODAY’S GAMES

 

Draw 12, 8:30 a.m.

Sask. vs.B.C.

Que. vs. Canada

N.L. vs. Alta.

Ont. vs. Manitoba

 

Draw 13, 1 p.m.

N.B. vs. N.L.

NWT/Y vs. Ont.

N.S. vs. Sask.

P.E.I. vs. Que.

 

Draw 14, 5:30 p.m.

Canada vs. P.E.I.

N.S. vs. B.C.

Manitoba vs. NWT/Y

Alta. vs. N.B.