Team Canada clinches No. 1 playoff spot at BKT Tires World Women’s Championship

Skip Rachel Homan put herself in prime position to win her second world women’s curling crown Friday, but it didn’t come easy.

It took Team Canada’s dogged determination, Homan’s pinpoint accuracy and a tiny bit of good fortune to roll up 11 straight wins and a lock on first place in the 13-team BKT Tires World Women’s Curling Championship in Sydney, N.S.

The Canadians posted an 8-2, seven-end win over skip Rebecca Morrison’s Team Scotland (5-7) for their latest win at Centre 200, putting them over the top and into Saturday’s semifinals as the number one seed.

The win gives Team Canada the first-end hammer and rock choice throughout the playoffs.

Their opponent won’t be determined until Saturday morning after qualification games.

But for now, the Canadians can breathe easier and play loose and relaxed in their final game against Team South Korea (9-2). The Koreans, skipped by Eunji Gim, will go into the game fresh off a 9-5 win over skip Madeleine Dupont’s Team Denmark (6-6).

The round-robin finale still holds some importance for Team Canada, despite its position.

“For us it’s just continue what we’re doing, fine-tune anything we need to clean up and keep the momentum going,” said Homan, who is backed by vice-skip Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew, lead Sarah Wilkes, alternate Rachel Brown and coached by Don Bartlett and national coach Viktor Kjell, from the Ottawa Curling Club.

Miskew agreed.

“We’re just going to try to play our game. It still matters to us to make as many shots as we can, throw the rock well so we’re just going to do that.”

The win over Scotland was Homan and Co.’s 27th consecutive in elite competition this season.

But all of that will mean little if they can’t cross the finish line Sunday. This will be Homan’s fourth trip to the playoffs and shot at a gold medal. She settled for bronze in 2013 and silver in 2014 before breaking through in 2017.

There was another key game on the ice Friday afternoon with major implications. Skip Silvana Tirinzoni’s Team Switzerland (10-2), with a top two finish in mind, wrapped up its schedule with a crucial 4-2 win over Team Sweden (7-5), skipped by Anna Hasselborg. Team Switzerland is looking to win a fifth straight world women’s championship.

Team Turkey (3-9), skipped by Dilsat Yildiz, finished its week with a 9-6 win over skip Jessica Smith’s Team New Zealand (1-10).

The Canadians wasted little time in pushing aside the Scots. After a blank in the first, Miskew and Fleury threw back-to-back running doubles to flip the end around and lead to a count of three.

Homan admitted her team is at the top of its game.

“It’s some of the best curling we’ve had as a team,” she said, “and we hope to continue that.”

Teams with the bye Friday afternoon included Italy (9-2), U.S.A. (5-6), Norway (4-7), Japan (3-8) and Estonia (1-10).

The third- through sixth-ranked teams after the round-robin wraps up Friday evening compete in playoff qualification games (3 vs. 6; 4 vs. 5) with the winners advancing to the semifinals. The semifinal winners play in the gold-medal game and the losers play for bronze. 

The final goes Sunday at 5 p.m.

The 2024 BKT Tires World Women’s Curling Championship continues with a draw at 7 p.m. (all times Atlantic).

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2024 BKT Tires World Women’s Curling Championship are available by CLICKING HERE.

TSN and RDS2 will provide complete coverage of the 2024 BKT Tires World Women’s Curling Championship. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.

For ticket information for the 2024 BKT Tires World Women’s Curling Championship, go to www.curling.ca/2024worldwomen/tickets/.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/2024worldwomen/nouvelles/?lang=fr