Staying alive!

Team Cameron stays alive with crucial win at Scotties

Kate Cameron made a major downpayment on a playoff spot Thursday morning at the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary. 

The skip of Team Manitoba-Cameron (4-3, Winnipeg), in a life-or-death struggle with skip Heather Smith’s Team Nova Scotia (3-4, Halifax) to keep their playoff hopes alive, came through when it counted. 

It wasn’t easy, especially being down a player. But when the smoke had cleared at the WinSport Event Centre, it was Cameron with the big win and still in the hunt for one of three playoff spots in Pool B. 

It was a last gasp for Smith and Team Nova Scotia who will have to wait until next season. 

“Obviously not the situation we wanted to be in this morning, but happy the girls came to play,” said Cameron, who pulled off a 5-4 win in the must-win matchup. “Right from pre-game practice was significantly different, just being down a player, so we just roll with the punches, enjoy the moment and hoping to make some shots along the way.” 

Third Meghan Walter sat out the game due to apparent sickness. Kelsey Rocque moved up from second to take over the position. 

“Kelsey has played, I think, every position and she’s a strong shooter so I wasn’t worried about her stepping into that third role,” said Cameron. “The girls made some shots in front of me and I just had to make a couple.” 

“I’m getting used to sweeping some rocks and learning how to judge,” said Rocque. “A completely new role. It’s been fun but definitely a learning curve for me. We’re really hoping Meg will be back but we’re ready for regardless of what happens.”  

The heavy lifting is not done for the Winnipeggers from the Granite Club. They will knock heads tonight in the final draw against Team British Columbia-Grandy (5-2, Vancouver), skipped by Clancy Grandy, with the winner moving on to the six-team playoffs. 

Team British Columbia-Grandy had the morning bye in Pool B.  

Cameron had to make a hit-and-stick in the four-foot with her final rock of the 10th, facing two enemy stones and little room to roll, to seal the deal. Jill Brothers, who throws skip stones for the Bluenosers, had made a nifty hit-and-stick for two in the ninth to send the game to the final end all tied up. 

“This is what we kind of knew we had to do a couple of days ago,” said Cameron. “This was what it was going to come down to for us so we just wanted to put ourselves in a position to have a chance this last game. We need one more good one. We hope we can rally tonight, that would mean a lot to us given the challenges we’ve had this week.” 

Two teams with playoff spots already in their pockets continued their winning ways Thursday as well. Team Ontario-Homan (7-0, Ottawa) dispatched Team New Brunswick (2-5, Fredericton), skipped by Melissa Adams, 9-3, while Team Manitoba-Jones (6-1, Winnipeg/Altona) posted a 6-3 win over Team Ontario (3-5, Ottawa), skipped by Danielle Inglis. 

The win was key for Team Homan which clinched first place in the nine-team pool. The top two teams in both Pool A and B earn a berth in the page 1 / 2 qualifier match. 

“It’s great to get that extra life, the more extra lives you get the better,” said Homan. “We didn’t have the 1-2 spot yet so we had to keep playing our game.” 

In the other Pool B game on the docket, Team Northwest Territories (2-5, Yellowknife), rang up a 12-3 win over Bayly Scoffin’s Team Yukon (0-7, Whitehorse). 

The 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts continues with draws Thursday at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. (all times Mountain). 

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts are available at www.curling.ca/scoreboard/. 

TSN and RDS2 will provide complete coverage of the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule. 

Broadcast coverage for viewers outside of Canada is available on TSN’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/@TSN_Sports. 

For ticket information for the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, go to www.curling.ca/2024scotties/tickets/.