Music: {allcanada} SCOTT LOCKS DOWN PLAYOFF BERTH AT OLYMPIC CURLING PRE-TRIAL

Thursday, November 7, 2013

{allcanada} SCOTT LOCKS DOWN PLAYOFF BERTH AT OLYMPIC CURLING PRE-TRIAL

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KITCHENER, Ont. -- Kelly Scott became the first curler to advance to the Page playoffs of the 2013 Capital One Road to the Roar Olympic pre-trial tournament with an 8-5 win over Renee Sonnenberg in the women's A-event final on Thursday.

Scott and her teammates moved one step closer to locking down one of the final four spots at next month's Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings Olympic trials, where eight men's and eight women's teams will be vying for the chance to represent Canada at the 2014 Sochi Games.

Scott broke a close game open in the seventh end. Sonnenberg had a chance for a double takeout with two Scott stones in the rings, but her rock barely ticked shot stone and sailed through the house, leaving Scott with a steal of two and a 6-3 lead.

Scott used the hitting power of teammates Sasha Carter and Jeanna Schraeder to keep the house clean from then on, blanking the ninth and hitting out the 10th for the win.

"Any time you can steal late in the game, especially a deuce, that does definitely give you an edge, and advantage," said Scott. "It was not an easy sheet to play finesse shots on, so we definitely got the easier shot selection after we jumped ahead three points. But they did a good job of hanging in there and making us execute those peels or they could have been right back in it."

"Goal number one was to get through to that qualifying round," added Scott about clinching a playoff spot. "You want to be in that A versus B game, but that sometimes doesn't pan out. We couldn't have scripted a better start to this whole event for ourselves."

With the loss, Sonnenberg move into the women's B-event semifinal and will face Tracy Horgan of Sudbury, Ont., on Thursday evening.

Also on the ice Thursday afternoon were three teams trying to avoid slipping into sudden-death elimination in the C-event.

Laura Crocker of Edmonton, who lost to Sonnenberg on Wednesday night, lost in an extra end, 7-6 to Cathy Auld of Mississauga, Ont. Crocker missed a final takeout allowing Auld to steal one in the 10th, and another in the extra end.

On the men's side, it was an all-Ontario draw, as Greg Balsdon of Elgin came out on top 8-4 over Joe Frans of Bradford, and Sault Ste. Marie's Brad Jacobs, the reigning Tim Horton Brier champ, needed an extra end to defeat Mark Keen of Ajax 8-7.

Kean, Frans and Crocker now move into the C-Event and face elimination with one more loss.

Later Thursday, Brad Gushue of St. Johns, N.L. and Jon Morris's rink from Kelowna and Vernon, B.C., met in the men's A-event final with a berth in the Page playoffs on the line.

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