Ontario’s Rachel Homan defeated Saskatchewan’s Robyn Silvernagle 9-7 on Sunday to set up a final showdown with Alberta’s Chelsea Carey at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Homan and Carey will meet Sunday night in a rematch of the 2017 Olympic Trials final.
Homan broke open a tight semifinal at Centre 200 with four points in the sixth end. Saskatchewan third Stefanie Lawton had a hog-line violation and Ontario loaded stones in the four-foot ring.
Silvernagle was a little wide with a raise attempt and Homan followed with a draw for the lead. Saskatchewan bounced back with three points in the seventh end.
Looking for a steal in the eighth, Silvernagle was light with her final throw to allow Homan to score a deuce.
Saskatchewan replied with a pair in the ninth but a pair of excellent tick shots by Ontario lead Lisa Weagle set the tone in the 10th. Silvernagle was left with few options and Homan had an open draw for the victory.
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“We just kept pressing,” Homan said. “It was important to get our two there in the eighth and just take control of the game.”
Homan is a three-time Scotties champion and has reached the playoffs in all six of her appearances.
She beat Carey on home ice to win the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings and represent Canada at the Pyeongchang Olympics. Homan failed to reach the podium at the Games.
Carey defeated Homan 6-3 when the teams met in the preliminary round. Homan has a 20-12 edge in all-time head-to-head meetings.
Carey, from Calgary, won her lone national title in 2016. Silvernagle, from Biggar, Sask., was making her debut at the national women’s curling championship.
“Of course, you want to be in that final game but we can’t hang our heads low about not being there,” Silvernagle said. “For the first Scotties for three of us, it was fantastic and we had a ton of great shots throughout the whole entire week. We just came up a little bit short today.”
Carey earned direct entry into the final with a win over Silvernagle in the 1-2 Page Playoff game on Saturday. Homan reached the semifinal with a 3-4 Page Playoff victory over Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville.
Competition started over a week ago with 16 teams entered in the main draw. Eight teams were cut after the preliminary round and four more were trimmed Friday night after the championship round.
Announced attendance was 2,496 for the semifinal, pushing the overall total to 43,312. The venue has a capacity of about 5,000 for curling.
The Scotties winner will represent Canada at the March 16-24 women’s world championship in Silkeborg, Denmark.
The Canadian men’s curling championship, the Tim Hortons Brier, is set for March 1-10 in Brandon, Man.
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