Devereaux scores first win for Newfoundland and Labrador in Draw 8 action

After a last-rock loss to Saskatchewan on Monday, Kristie Moore and her Alberta foursome from the Grande Prairie Curling Club hit the ice Tuesday afternoon looking for that elusive first win at the 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Also in the hunt for a win – Stacie Devereaux, of the Bally Haly Country Club in St. John’s, who fell to Team Canada 10-3 in the Monday evening draw. In the end, it was Devereaux who knew when to be patient and when to put the pressure on, capitalizing on misses by Moore to earn the 8-3 win, her first of the tournament. Newfoundland and Labrador set the tone, stealing one in the second end, then scoring four in the fourth end, when Alberta’s final stone glided through the house on a draw attempt. A frustrated Moore found herself in trouble again in the next end, and was forced to take only one when a tricky raise take-out didn’t remove two stones. A score of three in the sixth put Newfoundland and Labrador up 8-2, and the game out of reach for Alberta. For Moore and her team of Scotties rookies (Blaine de Jager, Michelle Dykstra and Amber Cheveldave), the winless streak continues, but the team is making the most of the Scotties experience. “Kingston’s been an amazing experience for all four of us,” said lead Cheveldave, who had a strong game in the loss, curling 86 percent, the highest on either team. “We’re having a lot of fun, (it’s) just that we’d love a couple of wins. We’re plugging away, we’re keeping at it, we’re enjoying the crowd and interacting with all the people here – and hoping to get a W still.” Devereaux and her team of Erin Porter, Lauren Wasylkiw and Heather Martin were relieved to break the winless streak. “That game went much better,” said Devereaux. “We finally played like we can play, like we know how to play and like we were playing at provincials, so it felt really great to get back to that.” It’s been a long week for the team from St. John’s, especially with a young front end that has never been to the national championship, but Devereaux says the experience of lead Heather Martin, making her eighth appearance at the Scotties, has made a valuable contribution. “Heather has so much experience,” said Devereaux. “She just evens us out and lets us know what to expect at a big event like this. And she’s just so sure on her weight calls, and putting her rocks in the right place, it’s just irreplaceable.” “We just relaxed, and regrouped and we talked about how we knew we could play this game,” said Martin about her conversations with the team. “Throw the rock at the broom with the right weight, and trust our skills and our delivery.” “And just park the losses that we had,” she said, “and come out and enjoy and play today.” In other games, British Columbia’s Kelly Scott scored a six-ender in the tenth to win 13-7 over Andrea Crawford and her team from the Gage Golf and Curling Club; Nova Scotia recorded its first win, a 10-7 victory over Northwest Territories/Yukon’s Kerry Galusha; in an extra end, PEI edged Quebec 8-6, stealing the winning point when Quebec skip Allison Ross’s final draw slid through the house. The four teams at the top of the standings – Ontario (5-0), Manitoba (5-0), Team Canada (5-0) and Saskatchewan (4-1) – return to action on Tuesday evening with Draw 9 at 7:00 p.m. (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/ httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4wScO-s2jo