A Sunday afternoon win in Maple Ridge gave Tracey Jones the tenth and final berth in the B.C. Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Jones and her Prince George Golf and Curling Club team of Falon Burkitt, Kay-Lynn Thompson and Melinda Kotsch qualified for the women's provincial curling championship thanks to a 10-5 victory against the Leanne Andrews rink of New Westminster. The Scotties will be held Jan. 6-12 at the PGGCC.
Knowing a loss would keep them out of their hometown Scotties, Jones and her mates played a strong game and took complete control when Jones's final rock of the sixth end gave the team three points and an 8-3 lead.
After a blank in the first end, Andrews scored two in the second and Jones put up a deuce in the third. The fourth end was pivotal, as Jones stole three points and moved ahead 5-2. Andrews got one back in the fifth but Jones responded with the big sixth end. Andrews picked up two in the seventh and Jones answered with single points in the eighth and ninth ends. The 10th end wasn't played.
Jones couldn't be reached for comment on Monday.
Jones's win came in the B final and completed a weekend that saw her team go 3-1 overall. The only loss for the P.G. foursome came in Saturday's opener against Andrews. In that game, which was tight all the way through, Andrews escaped with a 5-4 decision.
Jones, however, battled back with a 5-3 victory against Heather Tyre of Kelowna and then downed Lynn Noble of Qualicum 10-7 to book a spot in the B final.
Karla Thompson and her Kamloops rink edged Andrews 7-6 in the A final and, in doing so, also qualified for the Scotties.
The Jones rink -- formed specifically to take a run at a B.C. Scotties berth -- had already attended qualifying events in Lake Cowichan and Kelowna but had failed to advance.
Jones's success in Maple Ridge means two local teams will compete at provincials. The other -- skipped by Patti Knezevic and featuring Jen Rusnell, Kristen Fewster and Rhonda Camozzi -- earned a spot in the tournament based on its top-two position within the Canadian Team Ranking System. A CTRS berth also went to Allison MacInnes of Abbotsford. Kelowna's Kelly Scott, who has claimed the B.C. title four consecutive years, received a bye to provincials as the defending champion.
Teams that advanced to the Scotties through the other two qualifiers are skipped by Sarah Wark (Victoria), Kesa Van Osch (Victoria), Shawna Jensen (Victoria), Amy Gibson (Vancouver) and Marla Mallett (Cloverdale).
The B.C. Scotties Tournament of Hearts will determine the provincial representative at the national Scotties, Feb. 1-9 in Montreal. The Canadian champion will play at worlds, March 15-23 in Saint John, N.B.
Tickets for the B.C. Scotties are available at the PGGCC or by calling 250-563-0357, local 100.
