B.C. moves up to fourth place after Draw 14 at the Scotties

When Draw 14 began on Thursday evening, B.C. and Saskatchewan were tied in the standings behind Manitoba, Ontario and Team Canada. By the end of Draw 14, Kelly Scott had moved alone into fourth place at the 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

B.C.’s Sasha Carter watches her shot during the 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts (Photo CCA/Andrew Klaver)

The teams traded singles through the first two ends, keeping it close, but things fell apart for Saskatchewan in the third. The precision shooting of B.C. second Sasha Carter and third Jeanna Schraeder, along with some unlucky Saskatchewan misses, left skip Kelly Scott with an open draw for four, and a 5-1 lead. Saskatchewan continued to put rocks in play in an attempt to generate offence, but B.C. held Shumay to single points, leading 7-2 after six ends and in control of the game all the way through to the 9-2 final, their sixth of the round robin. “We’re a little under the radar,” said Scott about the team’s return to form after a slow start. “We’re not the front-runners this week, so we’re scrapping. Every game we’re scrapping out there, so that’s going to be our style for this Scotties. “We just didn’t have it tonight,” said Shumay, who now sits at 6-3 behind B.C. in the standings. “We weren’t getting the hits and rolls. The breaks weren’t going our way.” Thursday night also saw the Battle of Alberta, as Team Canada’s Heather Nedohin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton) met Team Alberta’s Kristie Moore and her team from the Grande Prairie Curling Club. It was a defensive game, with Moore patiently blanking three ends until she was able to score a single in the fifth. “We had our opportunities, just like the other (games),” said Moore. “We tried to keep it a little more simple to see if that worked, and I think they liked that too, because they followed suit. But it was a good one.” httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i60paDFXOI In other games, Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones continued her domination of the field, putting Quebec away 7-1 in seven ends and retaining her undefeated status. “We’re pretty excited. Usually in the last round robin game we have to do something good to get in a good spot, and this year it’s a little bit different,” said Jones. “So hopefully we can carry that momentum through tomorrow and into the playoffs.” In the surprise of the night, Nova Scotia (4-4) kept the pressure on second-place Ontario (7-1), forcing Rachel Homan into some uncharacteristic misses. Homan and her team from the Ottawa Curling Club waited for opportunities, and were trailing 5-4 heading into the tenth. When Nova Scotia skip Mary-Anne Arsenault’s last draw bounced open, Homan had a hit for two and the 6-5 win. The Scotties continues on Friday with draws at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (all times EST). All draws are being broadcast by TSN/RDS, the official broadcast partner of the Season of Champions. Live scoring, statistics and updated standings are available at https://www.curling.ca/championships/scotties/draw-schedule/scores-and-standings/