Mary-Anne Arsenault ended Colleen Jones’ magical run at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts on Sunday with a 7-4 win in the championship game.
Arsenault captured her fifth provincial women’s crown while keeping Jones, her former skip, from her 15th in a battle of Mayflower Curling Club teams.
The teams shook hands after the ninth end when Jones, trailing 7-3, was only able to score a single point with the hammer.
Arsenault and her team of third Christina Black, second Jen Baxter and lead Emma Logan used the hammer to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the opening end.
After blanking the second end, Arsenault stole two more in the third for a 4-0 lead.
“We certainly didn’t expect to get up quickly like that,” said Arsenault. “But the two in the first kind of set the tone. Typically Colleen’s strategy is quite defensive but when you get down a couple of points early it’s hard to play defensive. We were happy to get that early lead.”
Arsenault said the team didn’t change their strategy with the early advantage.
“You kind of think you can turn to defence when you are up four, but with the five-rock rule, it is difficult to do that because they are always going to have a chance to have those guards and move things around in the house. You pretty much have to stay on offence all the time.
“My team executed very well so I was never really in trouble when it came to my shots.”
A deuce in the eighth end gave Arsenault a 7-3 lead and some breathing room.
Arsenault admitted she was concerned about facing her former skip in such a big game.
“I’d like to say I just see the rocks but I was not terribly comfortable when they won the semifinal. It wouldn’t have been my preference to play them in the final.”
The veteran skip was thrilled for her team especially first-year lead and her niece, Emma.
“I’m so proud of her, she played so well and never showed that she would be nervous at all, and she must have been incredibly nervous. She played like she had been in a final 15 times before.”
Jones and her team of Kim Kelly, Sheena Moore and Julia Colter advanced to the championship game by beating defending champion Jill Brothers (Mayflower) 6-4 in Saturday night’s semifinal.
Jones went 6-1 in preliminary play with her only loss to Arsenault on Friday.
The Arsenault rink advances to the Canadian Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Moose Jaw, Sask., from Feb. 15-23.
Arsenault won a bronze medal in her last appearance at the Scotties in 2018.
