Team Jones to meet Lawton in Women’s Final

Team Jones, with Kaitlyn Lawes skipping, will play Stefanie Lawton in the final of the 2012 Capital One Canada Cup of Curling after defeating Heather Nedohin by a score of 9-5 in an exciting women’s semi final Saturday afternoon. Both teams came out firing. Two perfect runbacks by Nedohin third Beth Iskiw in the second end allowed Nedohin to score the deuce. Keeping the pressure on in the third, Nedohin skimmed the centre guard to remove a rock from the button and save her shooter, forcing Lawes to draw for one. In the fifth end, Lawes drew a hard-swept rock around a guard to lie on the button. When Nedohin’s draw came up short, Lawes drew for 3 to take a 4-3 lead into the sixth end. Lawes, who curled 94% in the game, continued her solid play, taking a deuce in seven and forcing Nedohin to draw for a single against 2 in the eighth. In the ninth, both teams faced some challenges, exchanging a few misses. For Nedohin, a pick on Beth Iskiw’s second rock allowed Lawes to push Nedohin’s two rocks off the four-foot. With her last rock, Lawes was forced to hit for a single and a 7-5 lead heading into the last end. The final end was a battle as the teams tried to take control of the scoring area. A hit by Iskiw rolled under cover in the rings, but her second shot didn’t curl as much as expected and rolled too far. Nedohin and Iskiw combined on a precision draw to the back of the four foot, but Lawes followed it down, essentially removing any chance for Nedohin, whose in-off attempt rolled too far. “It was a great team game – they set me up very well,” said Lawes. “It was great to keep it close. Heather’s is such a great team and we always have such great games against them.” Lawes said that taking advantage of opportunities was key to the victory, and that the team is building momentum after some struggles earlier in the week. “I think even the first two games we did win, we had to scrap for them, so each game we’re learning what the ice is doing and as the event’s gone on, we’re getting stronger and stronger. And that was definitely our best team performance.” [flickr-gallery mode=”tag” tags=”2012cancupwsf” tag_mode=”all”] “I thought the teams both ways played really brilliant,” said Nedohin. “Overall, I think it was a very entertaining game. It’s nice when it comes down to skip’s last rocks.” “There’s always shots, no matter what game you play, a ‘should have’ or ‘could have’ or a half shot there, of course,” she added. “But there were some great curling shots being made by both teams.” The women’s final takes place on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. (10:30 a.m. ET). With Team Jones having already locked up a berth in the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings taking place next December in Winnipeg, Stefanie Lawton will be hoping to secure her place in the Trials with a win on Sunday morning. httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7onPu0am0Qc