Statistics are for losers…. and world champions

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/02/2021 (1992 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sometimes, statistics lie. These don’t.

Team Manitoba fired a collective 65 per cent Saturday night and, deservedly, got creamed. Veteran curler Jennifer Jones’ own game was particularly ugly — 48 per cent — against provincial rival Tracy Fleury in Draw 4 of the Scotties national women’s championship.

A nearly three-hour stay in half-shot city.

Historically, it was the former Olympic gold medallist’s poorest shooting mark since 2010 when she registered only 46 per cent in an 8-4 round-robin defeat to Shelley Nichols of Newfoundland-Labrador.

Nichols stole points in four consecutive ends that game. Eleven years later, the Fleury foursome, skipped by Chelsea Carey, turned the identical trick.

So, how’d Jones, a six-time Scotties champion, respond less than 24 hours later? Like a world-class competitor hungry for a record seventh.

Manitoba steamrolled Corryn Brown of British Columbia 14-5 on Sunday afternoon, ignited by a superb performance — 94 per cent — by their skipper. The quartet from Winnipeg’s St. Vital Club curled a combined 91 per cent, compared to just 80 from the Kamloops crew.

Afterwards, Jones flashed her witty side when asked to explain the striking turnaround.

“We thought we got all our bad shots out in one game, so we thought there’d be none left and that we’d be good (Sunday). So, we weren’t really worried,” she said, on a Zoom chat with reporters, eliciting a giggle from long-time third, Kaitlyn Lawes, sitting nearby.

“You definitely want to get stronger as the week goes on, so if you start off a little rocky there’s room for improvement, which I definitely thought we did (against Brown). “

Manitoba, now 2-1 in nine-team Pool B, applied all kinds of pressure, with aggressive calls and stainless execution, to drive B.C. to the ropes, not unlike what Carey and Team Wild Card 1 achieved the day before.

But Jones said it was far too early for alarm bells to sound.

“(Saturday) wasn’t as bad as the stats or maybe the scoreboard showed. We missed kind of the wrong shots here and there, we had back-to-back misses and got ourselves into some trouble,” said the former Winnipegger, who now calls Ontario home but remains eligible to compete for Manitoba based on birthright status, a rule adopted by Curling Canada two years ago.

“Honestly, when we went back to the hotel room we weren’t too concerned, we like the way we’re throwing, we feel really good with speed (of the ice) and we knew we’d come out sharp and we did that. (Saturday) was just kind of a little bump and we thought maybe we just got it all out in one game and we’re going to be good from here on out.”

Jones meets Sherry Anderson of Saskatchewan (1-1) on Monday afternoon. Carey’s team, meanwhile, owns an unblemished 3-0 record atop Pool B and faces Laurie St-Georges of Quebec (2-1) on the afternoon draw.

On Sunday morning, Carey demolished Melissa Adams of New Brunswick 9-2.

In Pool A, Team Canada, Kerri Einarson of Gimli is 3-0, tied with Ontario’s Rachel Homan (3-0). Alberta’s Laura Walker (3-1) fell to Homan 6-5 in a sensational evening game.

Einarson slipped past Winnipeg’s Beth Peterson 6-4 in the morning and then thumped Krysta Burns of Northern Ontario 12-4.

Team Canada still has Ontario and Alberta on the horizon.

“We just really focus on getting better each game as we get deeper into the competition,” said lead Briane Meilleur. “Figuring out the ice earlier, getting draw weight, just getting better each game, that’s what our main focus is so we can be ready for those big games at the end.”

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Peterson (Wild Card 2) has stumbled since an opening-night win, dropping three straight including defeats Sunday to the defending champions and Jill Brothers of Nova Scotia, by an 8-5 count.

Meanwhile, Altona’s Mackenzie Zacharias (Wild Card 2) earned a milestone first Scotties victory, hammering Laura Eby of Yukon 15-3 after falling to Einarson and Walker to start.

“Honestly, it feels pretty good. We’re really excited,” said the 21-year-old skip. “We just have to take what we learned from this game— we learned a lot about the ice and threw some really good rocks — and just build off every game we play, and that’s what we plan on doing (Monday).”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell