Connell rink wins ladies bonspiel

Bailey Eberherr, left, and Erin Ross of the Alyssa Connell rink put some effort into sweeping during the final game of the Ladies Bonspiel at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club on Sunday. The Connell rink downed Julia Shaddick to claim the title. Allan WISHART/Free Press

For Alyssa Connell, it may have bee the longest measurement of her curling career – in two senses.

Connell and the rest of her team had to wait a few minutes for a measurement after the sixth end of the Ladies Bonspiel final Sunday at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club against the Julia Shaddick foursome.

“We were measuring to see whose rock was closest at the edge of the 12-foot,” Connell said, “and the end of the measuring stick was going to hit the one rock and move it before they could measure it.

“So they had to lengthen it and get the measurement.”

That measurement gave Connell a point to take a 6-5 lead on the way to a 7-5 win.

“We kept the momentum going after that,” she said after the game. “We got the lead and it gave us some more confidence for the last couple of ends.”

That confidence was key, since Shaddick had just scored three in the fifth end to erase a 5-2 Connell lead.

For the team of Connell, third Bailey Eberherr, second Jordan Henson and lead Erin Ross, the win capped off a good season, which saw them win the zone junior title and compete at the provincials.

“This is the end of the season,” Connell said, “but we’re all still eligible as juniors again next year.”

Rounding out the Shaddick rink were third Courtney Wickstrom, second Deb Dallas, and lead Sue Dalziel.

The other ladies finals Sunday saw Vonda Robinson win the event with a win over Carla Cook, while Pam Boehmer came back from a 7-1 deficit after five ends to down Jackie Burns in the C event final.