Workforce Ontario’s Rachel Homan beats Manitoba’s Jones to win Scotties

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It was speculated to be Jennifer Jones’ bash.

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As a substitute, Rachel Homan spoiled the enjoyable Sunday.

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In what was shaping as much as be a profitable retirement occasion for Jones at her final Scotties, the Ottawa skip made the night time her personal, capping an unbeaten week on the nationwide ladies’s curling championship with an 5-4 victory over the legendary roller from Winnipeg.

“Unbelievable,” Homan mentioned. “A fully unbelievable sport. We would have liked each inch.

“You place within the work, and also you hope it’s sufficient,” continued Homan. “And (Sunday), it was sufficient.”

Homan and her Ontario staff wrapped the week-plus occasion with an 11-0 document for her fourth title on the Scotties Event of Hearts.

Alongside the best way, Homan — with third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew, lead Sarah Wilkes, alternate Rachel Brown and coach Don Bartlett — tripped up Jones 3 times, together with in a 7-5 round-robin assembly and the 6-4 Web page playoff 1-v-2 battle simply 24 hours forward of the finale.

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Then got here that finale — in entrance of a sellout of three,195 followers — and one other defensive epic between the 2 sharpshooters however one other win for Homan.

“I’m so happy with my staff for preventing and sticking with it,” Homan mentioned.

Not precisely the best way Jones envisioned saying goodbye after an in any other case unbelievable week herself, going 8-4 along with her Manitoba rink of third Karlee Burgess, second Emily Zacharias, lead Lauren Lenentine and coach Glenn Howard from the St. Very important and Altona curling golf equipment.

But it surely was a cheerful so-long, nonetheless.

Followers stood, roared, shouted and clapped in a spirited present of celebration for Jones, who was looking for a document seventh Scotties crown.

The 49-year-old Winnipeg native and legend of curling answered again with tears, hugs, waves and kisses blown.

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The early ends have been typical of the Jones-Homan battle in the course of the week — a chess match with few errors and never a lot given a method or one other, leading to Homan — who earned hammer with the proper document coming in — eking out a 2-1 lead by 4 ends.

The fifth noticed Homan execute an ideal runback along with her final rock, and Jones was heavy with the draw with hammer.

Within the sixth, Homan answered Jones’ sensible double-takeout with one in all her personal to pressure a clean after which pressured Jones to at least one within the seventh.

The Ottawa Curling Membership skip then hit-and rolled in opposition to three enemy rocks within the eighth to revive her two-point lead.

With hope fading within the ninth, Jones caught a break on a Homan double-takeout that went surprisingly fallacious, with a Manitoba rock surprisingly falling again into the four-foot to be shot rock. It opened the door for Jones to attract in for 2 and a tie sport.

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However within the tenth, Homan went to work to maintain the tip clear, nevertheless it was Jones who gave it to her, arising gentle along with her final rock on a draw to the button.

“Awwww … I want I might have that draw again,” Jones mentioned. “However truthfully, I couldn’t have requested for a greater championship. The crowds have been unbelievable. I believed we performed a extremely nice sport. It might’ve gone both method. Sadly, it didn’t go our method.”

The Scotties win additionally provides Homan the primary spot within the Olympic trials to symbolize Canada on the 2026 Winter Video games in Milano Cortina, Italy.

However within the tenth, Homan went to work to maintain the tip clear and get the purpose she wanted for victory.

– 1st, Clean, 0-0
– 2nd, Homan pressured to hit-and-stick for one, 1-0 Ontario
– third, Jones’ stone picks on draw for 2, 1-1
– 4th, Homan hit-and-stick and measure for one, 2-1 Ontario
– fifth, Jones draw heavy, steal of 1, 3-1 Ontarion sixth, Clean, 3-1 Ontario
– seventh, Jones pressured to hit-and-stick for one, 3-2 Ontario
– eighth, Homan pressured to hit-and-roll for one, 4-2 Ontario
– ninth, Jones attracts for 2, 4-4
– tenth, Jones gentle on draw to pressure Homan hammer, 5-4 Ontario

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SEMIFINAL SCORE

The semifinal noticed Jones dismiss Manitoba’s Kate Cameron in 12-7 vogue.

Jones executed a double-takeout with hammer within the first finish to safe a five-ender, sending her on her option to victory.
It was her second five-count of the week.

“If you happen to maintain a number of rocks in play, you by no means know,” Jones mentioned. “You would possibly get a giant finish. And we acquired lucky when Kate rubbed off and left me the double. That was clearly a giant turning level within the sport.”

Actually, it was the tip of Winnipeg’s Workforce Cameron, which unleashed fairly the run at these Scotties all the best way to the semifinal.

“We simply tried to keep up the scoreboard at that time and hoped that we’d get a few breaks alongside the best way,” mentioned Cameron of attempting to rebound after the five-ender. “Statistically, I don’t assume it’s good odds after that time, however I feel it was simply focusing one finish at a time and seeing if we might make one thing occur on the market.”

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Cameron’s staff from the Granite Curling Membership of third Meghan Walter, second Kelsey Rocque, lead Mackenzie Elias and alternate Taylor McDonald managed to attain deuces in every of the second, fourth and eighth ends, however Jones & Co. replied with two-counts within the third, fifth and seventh frames to proceed their dominance on the scoreboard.

“As a lot as that loss sucks proper now, the ladies are going to take so much from that,” Cameron mentioned. “I feel that’s one of many greatest video games they’ve performed in. Heaps to study from. 

“This entire week we are able to pull from,” added Cameron, a 32-year-old Winnipeg native. “We turned some heads and gained just a few video games individuals weren’t anticipating. We knew we might. We simply needed to keep in that mentality of 1 sport at a time — our backs have been in opposition to the wall since Thursday morning. So I feel it was fairly spectacular to make it to Sunday.”

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EXTRA ENDS

Sunday’s closing was Jones’ eleventh — the most-ever for a Scotties competitor. It was additionally capped her 18th look on the Scotties. Jones final gained in 2018. No one has gained extra Scotties than Jones, who got here into the night time tied with Colleen Jones on six titles. The Manitoba skip additionally entered the night time with three Scotties MVP awards … Homan final gained the Scotties in 2017, which was her third take of the title on the nationwide championship. The Ottawa skip made her seventh look in a closing Sunday in simply 10 Scotties journeys … Ultimate attendance for the occasion was 63,971 followers … The 2025 Scotties Event of Hearts is slated for Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ont., Feb. 14-23, 2025.

tsaelhof@postmedia.com
X-@ToddSaelhofPM

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