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Selnes at the Scotties: Team Sask. defeats previously undefeated Alberta

It was a surreal Monday evening at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw for Team Saskatchewan. Playing the undefeated Laurie Walker from Alberta, they needed a win to ensure staying in the top four teams of their pool.
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Team Silvernagle at the 2019 Viterra Scotties Women's Provincials. File photo by Devan C. Tasa

It was a surreal Monday evening at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw for Team Saskatchewan.

Playing the undefeated Laurie Walker from Alberta, they needed a win to ensure staying in the top four teams of their pool. What made the game unusual was how Alberta never seemed to be in the game. From beginning to end they gave Saskatchewan opportunities.

The giving started in the first hand when they missed an open takeout and were forced to take a single.

In the second end Walker missed an easy double and Robyn Silvernagle had an easy draw for two points.

Alberta had a chance to turn the game around in the fourth when they scored a pair on a double after Saskatchewan overswept a takeout that rolled too far.

In the pivotal fifth end Alberta had three rubbed draw shots and a takeout that rolled too far. On her last shot, Silvernagle made the key shot of the game curling deftly through a port with enough weight to tap back an Alberta rock for three. Lawton said they knew they had to be tight to the guard and Robyn threw it perfectly. Over four draws Silvernagle’s signature shots have been delicate taps.

In an apt comparison of the respective pressures on the skips, Walker had to draw the eight foot on her last rock of the sixth end while facing three Saskatchewan counters. In the seventh end Silvernagle had an open hit for a single.

The eighth end sealed the game and confirmed it was not Alberta’s night. With her last rock Silvernagle was heavy on a guard and ended up making a perfect freeze. Lawton said it was fortunate for plan B to work out so well for the team. Left to try to blast Walker was not able to clean the mess and Saskatchewan stole a point to go up 7-4.

Alberta’s final woes of the Monday nightmare came in the 10th when, needing to steal two points, their lead hogged her first rock.

It was a perfect game for Saskatchewan. Lawton said they like to be patient and do their best to score if opportunity comes up. Alberta’s unforced errors provided a game filled with opportunities for Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan never opened an end with a centre line guard. Every end where they had first shot they put it in the house on the centre line, usually near the button.

It is likely to be a good game for Saskatchewan when Silvernagle only throws five draw shots in the game and one of those was the tap in the fifth.

Saskatchewan has had no letdowns against the teams with weaker records and played well against the stronger teams.

Bill Selnes, who’s based in Melfort, has written about sports since the late 1970s.