2004 CANADA CUP OF CURLING SPORT MART PLACE, KAMLOOPS BC JANUARY 6-11, 2004 All Times Eastern Linescores & Statistics For Draw 12 (Women's Final) Saturday, January 10; 2:00 PM * - last rock advantage in first end Sheet C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 TOTAL Anderson * 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 7 03:21 C Jones 0 2 0 2 1 1 0 2 0 0 8 03:28 Anderson #SH PTS PCT C Jones #SH PTS PCT 1 Donna Gignac 20 73 91 1 Nancy Delahunt 18 61 85 2 Sandra Mulroney 20 61 76 2 Mary-Anne Arsenault 20 72 90 3 Kim Hodson 20 56 70 3 Kim Kelly 20 59 74 4 Sherry Anderson 20 54 68 4 Colleen Jones 20 64 80 Team Totals 80 244 76 Team Totals 78 256 82 ATTENDANCE: DRAW 11: 2,111 TOTAL: 20,443 CCA Press Release: Jones wins women’s final of Strauss Canada Cup January 10, 2004; 7:25 PM EST January 10, Kamloops, BC Colleen Jones and her Halifax Mayflower Curling Club team of Kim Kelly, Mary-Anne Arsenault and Nancy Delahunt proved themselves worthy of the number one ranking when they captured the women’s final of the Strauss Canada Cup Saturday at Sport Mart Place, 8-7 over rival Sherry Anderson. The victory was worth a total of $33,000 to the Jones gang ($30,000 for first place plus $3,000 for three round robin wins), along with berths into the 2004 Continental Cup in Medicine Hat, November 25-28 and the 2005 Canada Cup, March 15-20 in Kamloops, as the defending champion. The winner was also supposed to receive a berth into the 2005 Canadian Curling Trials. However, since the 44-year-old Jones, who was celebrating the biggest payday in her curling life, had already earned a spot by virtue of her victory at the 2003 Scott Tournament of Hearts in Kitchener, that plum went to Anderson’s foursome from Delisle, Saskatchewan. Together now for six seasons, the Jones quartet has won big and lost big the past few seasons, but if anything, they are tough and resilient. After capturing the 1999 Scott, they finished out of the money at the Ford Worlds in Saint John. Then in 2001, Jones won the world title in Lausanne, Switzerland after stumbling out of the gate, losing her first two. At the 2002 Worlds, they sunk in Bismarck, North Dakota, blowing a lead to Dordi Nordby in the bronze medal game. Then, last season, they rebounded to win a third straight Canadian championship, before losing a heartbreaker at the Ford Worlds in Winnipeg, suffering their only loss of the week in the final to Debbie McCormick of the United States. Two years ago, Jones defeated Anderson, 8-5 in the 2002 Scott final in Brandon. On Friday, Anderson turned the tables, winning 7-6 in the Page Playoff game between the A and B section winners, advancing directly to the final, while Jones had to contend with Kelowna's Kelly Scott in last night’s semi-final, eventually winning 6-5. Today, it was Anderson who couldn’t quite keep up with the Joneses. Anderson took two in the first end, but Jones equalled the score in the second, then took another deuce in the fourth for a 4-3 lead. It was the fifth and sixth ends, though, which proved the difference, as Jones was able to steal singles in both for a 6-3 lead. The roof nearly fell in completely for Anderson in the seventh, but she made a great hit and stay on the button while facing four Jones counters, narrowing the margin to 6-4. But in the eighth end, Jones grabbed another pair when Anderson’s attempted draw was wide and heavy, leaving the record five-time Hearts winner with her own draw, using the Anderson rock in the eight-foot as backing. Anderson got that deuce back in the ninth and even stole one in the 10th, but it wasn’t enough, as Jones simply had to hit and stay in giving up only a single. "It's such a great chance to come and play against such wonderful teams, and more importantly get that spot in the Continental Cup and Canada Cup next season, " said Jones. "It's a learning process. We had to learn a lot from Winnipeg, and I think we have. We're just that little bit more aggressive this year compared to last year. If we give up a two, we go after the two right away and we did that today. "We've been experimenting all year on trying to get a little bit better than we were last year, and I'm happy to say that I think we've done that. If losing in Winnipeg was part of the process of making us a stronger team and getting to the Olympics, then losing was a hurtful thing at the time, but a necessary evil." Game percentages certainly were part of the final story. Jones fired 80% to Anderson’s 68%, as well as holding a 82-76 edge in team percentage. Next month, the Jones team will head to Red Deer, Alberta as Team Canada once again, in the 2004 Scott Tournament of Hearts, February 21-29, seeking its fourth consecutive national championship. Anderson, who picked up a total of $23,000 and the coveted Trials berth, said, "There was enough stuff on the line that it should have been intensity-packed. We didn't need anything more to get us up, with the Continental Cup berth, the money and the return trip here. If that's not enough, then I don't know what is. "I didn't think we maybe had our 'A' game, compared to through the week. But we had chances, too. We've won a lot of bonspiels over the course of our six seasons together, so it's not like we don't know how to win. They outplayed us, and that's all there is to it."