Jones Wins a Wild Game
Posted at 1:40 pm on February 21, 2013
Thursday Morning at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts started with a huge match up between Manitoba and Ontario. These two powerhouse teams were tied for first place with a perfect 7-0 record. It was a wild, back-and-forth, high scoring affair. When the dust settled, Jennifer Jones of Team Manitoba came away with the crucial 9-7 win.
Jones played a patient game early. She didn’t get rattled after missing a crucial take-out in the second end. The shot could have given four points to Manitoba, but with the miss, Ontario picked up a steal of one. As a veteran skip, Jones just waited for a perfect opportunity to pounce. That opportunity came in the fourth end, when Jones saw another opening for four points. This time, she cashed in and leaped ahead 4-2.
Rachel Homan kept her cool, and answered right back in the next end. Ontario scored a big three points to re-take the lead. Ontario’s ability to rally back has been very impressive for such a young team.
After trading deuces in the 6th and 7th, Manitoba carried the hammer into the 8th trailing by one point. Despite a great run-back attempt by Homan, Jones was left with a routine draw for yet another deuce.
Rachel Homan found herself in a tough spot in the tenth end. Trailing by two, Ontario needed their two points to force an extra end. Jones went aggressively for the button, hoping to force Homan to only a single point. With Homan’s first stone, she attempted a froze to the Manitoba stone near the button in an attempt to set up a shot for two points on her last. But the draw came up light, allowing Jones to slash the shot stone off the button and run Ontario out of rocks.
The win leaves Jennifer Jones standing alone in first place with a 8-0 record. Rachel Homan drops back to 7-1.