SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — It was the final shot in the eighth that saved the season for Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones.
The Olympic champion trailed 5-3 to Scotland’s Eve Muirhead in their quarterfinal match on Saturday with the fate of her team’s chances to stay in the Players’ Championship — and keep their season alive — on the line.
Muirhead held shot stone in the eighth but Jones owned the hammer and eyed a score of three to win with two rocks sitting in the house. A silent crowd watched as Jones made the slash double takeout but one of the rocks spun out of the rings and the team was forced to settle for a deuce.
Jones prevailed to steal two and win 7-5 in the extra end but it wouldn’t have happened if not for the highlight-reel shot in eight.
“I knew we were going to be close, it was just a question of whether we could save all of the rocks,” Jones said. “When it hit I thought we made it for three but it just spun out.”
Third Kaitlyn Lawes wasn’t quite sure about the plan at first.
“I was kind of questioning it there, Jen was really confident and we almost made it for three,” Lawes said. “It was a great shot, she threw it really well and it was nice to be able to have that extra end.”
Muirhead missed on a tick shot in the extra frame and Jones was able to capitalize to lie three. Muirhead was unable to grab shot rock with her final stone.
“They just missed the second tick which gave us the chance and (second) Jill (Officer) made a great come-around,” Jones explained. We made then make a hard shot on the last one which is all you could ever ask.”
Muirhead opened the scoring with a three-ender in the first but Jones rallied back with a point in the second and single steals in the fourth and fifth ends to tie it 3-3. Muirhead regained the lead with a deuce in the sixth.
Muirhead and her team head home but their season was bright, highlighted with winning an Olympic bronze medal at the Sochi Winter Games, and the rink looks forward to the future.
“I think we’re not finished yet,” Muirhead said. “We’re a young team. I think we’ve got a bright future ahead of us.
“It just shows we can have great games against the top Canadian teams here and we love coming to Canada so there’s hopefully a big year ahead of us.”
Watch the Players’ Championship men’s and women’s semifinals live on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West & Pacific at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT
Scotties champion Rachel Homan also advanced to the semifinals with a 7-5 victory over Saskatoon’s Stefanie Lawton.
Down 4-2, Homan scored three in the sixth end to pull ahead by one. Lawton tied it with a single in the seventh but Homan held the hammer in the final end and her final-shot takeout earned a deuce.
As Masters champions, Homan’s Ottawa rink has a shot at a $100,000 bonus if they also capture the Players’ title.
Jones will face Sweden’s Margaretha Sigfridsson in an Olympic gold-medal game rematch and Homan takes on Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni.