Strong eliminated, Jones stays alive

After a rough 0-2 start, Jennifer Jones has finally found a way to win. Jones dropped her first two games of the tournament yesterday, to Eve Belisle and Cathy King. Her third game was against Heather Strong. Strong is the definite crowd favorite this week, as she is the reigning Newfoundland and Labrador women's champion. Strong was looking to give that big Newfoundland crowd something to cheer about.

Early on, Strong certainly did give that St. John's crowd a reason to cheer. After giving up a duce to Jones in the second end, Strong came back with a crushing three-ender to jump out to at 4-2 lead.

That lead was short lived, as Jones answered back with a single point in the fourth followed up with back-to-back steals of two points. This quieted the crowd down at the Mile One Centre, but soon enough, there was hope again. Heather Strong clawed back with a single point in the seventh to pull within two. But she would be playing the final end, down two point, without the hammer. Despite this difficult situation, Strong actually showed very strong offense, and had Jones looking at a tough shot her with last. Strong did get away with a steal in that eighth end, but Jones managed to cut her down to only a single, which gives Jones the 7-6 victory and keeps her hopes alive at this year's Players' Championship.

For Heather Strong, this loss means the end of her 2007-08 curling season. This was her third loss of this tournament, which eliminates her from competition with an 0-3 record. Jones improves to 1-2.