Team Morrison are the 2022 Scottish Curling Women’s Champions
Congratulations to Team Morrison (Rebecca Morrison, Gina Aitken, Sophie Sinclair, Sophie Jackson) on becoming the 2022 Scottish Curling Women’s Champions. The competition at the Dumfries Ice Bowl developed into a face off between Team Morrison and Team Henderson who met each other four times on the ice with the Aberdeen rink having the edge in the final to secure the title.
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DAY 7 – Women’s Final
Team Morrison swiftly took the advantage with a four-points score in End 3. Team Henderson gradually chipped away on their disadvantage in a tense and low-scoring game, but Team Morrison managed to hold their opposition at bay. Well-considered stone placement in the 10th end from the Aberdeen side left Fay Henderson with a difficult shot to score and when the skip’s throw did not come off, Team Morrison stole two for an 8-4 win.
Coming off the ice, skip Rebecca Morrison felt ‘amazing! For a minute it felt like it was gone, but we stuck in there and played some great shots in the last end, so I’m absolutely chuffed.
‘[After the four points] we were very aware that the game was still up for grabs for either team – Fay’s team, they’re great players and they’ve beaten us twice this week, so we know that they can take big ends off us, so we were very aware that the game hadn’t been won in the third end and there was still a long, long way to go.’
Speaking about the immaculate freeze she threw with her last stone Rebecca says that ‘before the stone was played I was super nervous and after the stone was played I was super nervous. But when I played it I just seemed to dial in and it was fine – afterwards I was shaking!
‘That’s the most calm I’ve ever felt in a final like that. Having teammates around you that have the experience really helps – [previous Scottish champions Sophie Jackson and Sophie Sinclair] definitely helped with my nerves today. We’ve had three weeks since our last competition, so we have just been focusing on our team sessions, throwing stones the same as each other and things like that and really tuned into the small details for the preparation for this championship. I think from the shot making and the results you can really see that the fine tuning has worked so well.’
DAY 6 – Semi-Final
A low-scoring game between Team Henderson and Team MacDonald had the sides sit level on three points each after seven ends. The momentum changed in End 8 when a few inaccuracies served Fay Henderson an open draw for five and the skip made no mistake. Despite subsequently losing three back, Team Henderson were well in the driving seat and secured a spot in the final with an 8-6 win.
‘We just picked ourselves up and kept going,’ Fay said post-game about the tight and tricky first half. ‘We managed to get the five in the eight end and from then on we were really in control; we lost the three back, but we were still two points up coming down with hammer and we just re-set, told ourselves that was the ideal position to be in and went on from there.
‘It was very nice just hitting the four foot for a five, I was like, okay, let’s go we’ve got to get stuck in and play this to win here. [Having lost in the page play-off] made us so much hungrier for the win. We had already lost to Team MacDonald in the round robin twice, so we were really out to win that and we put in a really great performance to do exactly that.
‘We’re looking forward to [the final]; it will be a tough game, but if we play well we know we can win.’
DAY 6 – Page Play-Off
Team Morrison earned themselves a handsome advantage over Team Henderson with a steal of three in the first half and henceforth were firmly in the driving seat to secure a 9-3 win. ‘It was a tough shot and it gave us a bit of a lead. After half time we just came out and had great stone placement and really put the pressure on towards the latter half of the ends, so it really was an in-control game,’ skip Rebecca Morrison said after the game.
Having only come off the ice at around 11pm last night, Rebecca admits that practice at 8.30 had the rink ‘a little bit concerned. But when you have these big games you just push through no matter what you’ve got going on, no matter how tired you are, the adrenaline gets you through.’
The two round robin fixtures against Team Henderson, which both ended in Fay’s favour, allowed for a comprehensive match preparation for Team Morrison, largely thanks to coach Nancy Smith: ‘Our coach is always taking notes, looking at what areas we might be able to capitalise on,’ Rebecca says. ‘We’re really fortunate to have such a great coach who keeps track of all that stuff because that came into it today. I think we are starting to peak towards the end of the week which is perfect. We just got to keep doing what we’re doing, stone placement in the right places, and we’re going to have a chill night tonight, luckily, so that should set us in good stead for tomorrow.’
DAY 5 – Women’s Draw 10
After three blank ends, Team Blair finally broke the deadlock with a score of three to instantly take a big lead over Team Cannon. Consecutive single steals upped the scores to 5-0 and prompted Team Cannon to concede after only six ends played.
Team Henderson were well in control of their game from the get-go, putting big multi-scores on the board to comprehensively outweigh Team Farmer’s singles. Henceforth, Team Henderson were never in doubt and confidently navigated towards a 9-5 win.
Amy MacDonald almost ran out of time for her final shot in a game versus Team Morrison that took near three hours to be decided. The sides mirrored each others’ point scores and neither could make a break. Sitting level after nine ends, Team Morrison had hammer for the final end and used the last stone nicely to score for a hard-worked 6-5 victory.
DAY 5 – Women’s Draw 9
Team Morrison earned themselves an early finish with two, two, four in the first three ends effectively decided the game. Team Cannon secured a deuce and managed to steal one, but it was too little too late and they conceded after six ends with the final scoreboard reading 10-3.
It took the full ten ends to decide the fixture between Team MacDonald and Team Farmer. Leading by five points after three ends, Team Farmer held an early advantage and managed their lead. Team MacDonald got themselves back in contention by securing consecutive singles in Ends 7 to 9, but Team Farmer played the hammer nicely to bag a 7-6 win.
Nothing could separate Team Henderson and Team Blair after eight ends, making for an enticing final. Team Henderson found the extra gear to take a deuce from End 9 and decided the game with a steal in the last end, concluding the game on a final result of 7-4.
DAY 4 – Women’s Draw 8
Team Farmer were well in control from the get-go, scoring deuces against Team Blair’s singles and firmly took the momentum with a steal of two in End 5. Continuing their form, Team Farmer secured threes in Ends 7 and 9, meaning even Team Blair’s first multi-score in the eighth end couldn’t prevent a 12-6 win.
A steal of two in End 4 put Team Henderson in the driving seat against Team Morrison. The junior champions shut Team Morrison’s comeback down with a three-points steal in End 7 that prompted an early conclusion after nine ends, the final scoreline reading 5-11.
An early advantage courtesy of a deuce in End 1 was played out to perfection by Team MacDonald who countered Team Cannon’s single scores risk-free and manged their lead. Team MacDonald dealt the final blows with deuces in the second half and as Team Cannon could not answer the call, they conceded after nine end, rendering the final standings 8-4.
DAY 4 – Women’s Draw 7
A score of two followed by a single steal gave Team Morrison an advantage that Team Farmer could not overcome. Although Team Farmer scored in the ends they had hammer, Team Morrison managed their lead to secure an 8-6 win.
Team Cannon opened the scoring with a one in the first end in their encounter with Team Henderson. However, it would remain their only point. Team Henderson responded with multi-scores and secured an 8-1 victory after seven ends played.
The fixture between Team Blair and Team MacDonald ended in dramatic fashion. Sitting on a one-point deficit after nine ends, Team Blair had the hammer in End 10 and used it to perfection to bag a score of five and a 10-6 win.
DAY 3 – Women’s Draw 6
Sitting level at the break, Team Morrison and Team Blair decided their fixture in the second half. Team Morrison were the only ones to collect points, albeit three singles, in Ends 6 to 9, Team Blair were facing a tough challenge. Two points from the 10th end were not enough to match Team Morrison who secured the win at 8-7.
A score of four in the fourth end had Team MacDonald in a comfortable position against Team Henderson. Although they were fighting hard with multi-scores and -steals, Team MacDonald did not have to take any risks and concluded the game with a 8-6 victory.
Team Cannon were exclusively on the scoreboard in the first half of their fixture against Team Farmer to lead by four points. Team Farmer’s only score came in End 6 with a deuce, but a series of three consecutive singles saw Team Cannon run out 7-2 winners with one end to spare.
DAY 3 – Women’s Draw 5
Team Henderson bagged a commanding 15-4 victory over Team Farmer. A score of three in End 5 was a sign of things to come from Team Henderson and while Team Farmer managed to respond with a deuce that time, the junior champions followed up with a four before killing the game with a five-points steal.
A shut out in the fixture between Team Blair and Team Cannon had the former storm to a 9-0 victory after six ends. ‘We came on the ice and everything just fell into place,’ a delighted Lucy Blair said after the game.
With Hannah Farries returning to the squad after self-isolation, Team Blair is now at full strength: ‘Hannah coming back in is what we were expecting, so she’s really fit in well. [Our team has] not actually played together before this competition, so the first few games was just getting used to each other and then we had Jenny [Jahn] and then our coach Alison [Kinghorn] playing. From now on going forward we should all just be focused in instead of having to learn each other’s slides and releases.’
Team MacDonald and Team Morrison were tightly matched throughout and neither side managed to build an advantage. Going into End 10, Team MacDonald led by a single point but Team Morrison had hammer. In need of at least one point, they used last stone nicely to bag two and secure a 7-6 win.
DAY 2 – Women’s Draw 4
Team Henderson earned themselves an early evening, securing a 10-win over Team Blair after seven ends. A deuce in the opening end saw Team Henderson lead from the get-go and the junior champions gradually stretched out their advantage before putting the game to bed with a score of five in End 7.
After chasing the game early on, Team MacDonald got themselves ahead just before the break with a three-points score in End 5. They successively stole another three off Team Farmer and confidently navigated to a 9-3 victory.
Multiple steals had Team Morrison in the driving seat, but an inspired performance from Team Cannon kept the fixture alive. A four-points score in the ninth end eventually put an end to proceedings with Team Morrison the 12-4 winners.
DAY 2 – Women’s Draw 3
A score of three plus a steal of four in ends two and four respectively had Team Farmer sitting comfortably on 8-1 against Team Blair at the break. Team Blair clawed one back, but a deuce in End 7 killed the game and scored Team Farmer a 10-2 win. The early ends were pivotal in securing the result says skip Beth Farmer: ‘We gave ourselves a good chance to keep the lead, kept the pressure on in the second half and managed to sail it out with the performance high. Everybody’s beating everybody at the moment, so it’s a good we’ve got a double round robin!’
Beth praised her rink for preparing ‘as good as they could’ for the championships, despite the pandemic: ‘We were in Bern, in Switzerland, at the end of January and had a good tournament there. We started the year quite well and are just trying to carry that forward which is a bit difficult, but everyone’s in the same boat and everyone’s done well to get here.
Teams Cannon and MacDonald traded points and could not be separated in the early stages. Team MacDonald eventually gained an advantage by scoring a deuce in End 5 and following it up with a single steal. Managing their advantage well, they navigated to a 5-7 win.
A two-points score for Team Morrison in End 1 could not unsettle Team Henderson who followed up with a score and a steal of three. Trailing by six after six, Team Morrison started an inspired comeback with two consecutive deuces. The hunt would not come off though as an immaculate double take-out from skip Fay Henderson ended End 10 prematurely and secured a 10-7 win. ‘It wasn’t too bad because I had another stone to come and knew that if I didn’t make the double it’s alright,’ Fay said after the game. ‘But making the double was nice and just a perfect finish, really.’
‘The three put us in a bit of control, gave us a bit of momentum and we managed to steal. From then on it was just about keeping that lead, staying in control and making sure that we took in the even ends and forced as best as we could. Every game we go out to win and we knew [Team Morrison] were probably the favourites. It was great to get that win there because it has really put us in a good position going ahead.’
DAY 1 – Women’s Draw 2
Team Henderson built a handsome lead over Team Cannon in the first half, going into the break at 4-0 in their favour. Team Cannon finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth end with a single point, but there recovery was put on hold immediately. A big score of four in End 7 for Team Henderson prompted handshakes with the final result 8-1.
Three consecutive scores in the first half gave Team Morrison a firm hold of proceedings, leading Team Farmer 6-1. A single score in the sixth end wasn’t enough to get Team Farmer back in the game and with 8-2 on the scoreboard, the players left the ice after eight ends.
Sitting level after seven ends, Team Blair decided their encounter with Team MacDonald in their favour in Ends 8 and 9. A single score followed by a steal of two took the standings to 8-5 and inspired and end to the game without the tenth end completed.
DAY 1 – Women’s Draw 1
Team Cannon and Team Farmer sat level after seven ends, before Team Cannon, who had been chasing throughout, took the lead with a steal of two. Team Farmer, however, kept their nerve and levelled the scores in the ninth end. Although Team Cannon had hammer in End 10, it was their opposition who secured two points and the win.
Team Morrison left the ice after just seven ends played with a 10-3 win over Team Blair. A six-points steal in End 2 proved too much to recover from for Team Blair while Team Morrison did not have to take any risks on their way to victory.
A steal was similarly decisive in the encounter between Team MacDonald and Team Henderson. Four stolen points in the third end gave Team MacDonald the upper hand and they managed their advantage nicely to navigate to a 9-5 win. ‘It’s always nice, in the first round, to get that win and get settled in,’ skip Amy MacDonald said after the game. ‘The pivotal moment was the steal of four, from there on in it was just about staying calm and eliminating the opposition stones one by one. It’s different being in Dumfries, but they’ve done a great job with the arena and the ice is getting better and better, so it’s exciting to be here.’
Speaking about her team’s preparation for the competition, Amy admits that they had to adapt a lot: ‘We’ve had players with illness and there’s also not been as many events to travel to, but we’ve taken everything in our stride. We went to Latvia when Latvia was in full, police-enforced lockdown and we coped really well in that competition – that was our first event together, staying in a hotel room as a four, and that helped us get off to a good start and become closer as a team.’
Draws & Final Images: Scottish Curling/Jayne Stirling; Page Play-Off Images: Scottish Curling/Sandrine Wyrich
