Role of giant-killer fits Flaxey fine

MONTREAL — Ontario’s Allison Flaxey defeated Alberta’s Val Sweeting 7-5 in a major upset Wednesday at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Flaxey (2-5) held off a charge that saw Alberta (6-3) score two in the ninth end. She took out Sweeting’s stone on the button in the 10th to prevent a steal and secure the victory.

“We haven’t been playing as well as we could have all week,” said Flaxey, the 2001 Manitoba junior champion now based out of Listowel, Ont. “To show that we are a good, solid team and that we belong with the favourites and can play with the favourites, it shows people why we’re here.”

Ontario is all but eliminated from playoff contention, but can still play the role of giant-killer with four round robin games remaining.

“It’s all we have left so you’ve got to love doing it,” said Flaxey. “I hope to be here doing it for the rest of the week.

“We’ve got a couple of tough ones left and hopefully we can at least shake things up.”

The afternoon draw saw defending champion Rachel Homan’s Canada rink (7-0) continue its winning ways with a 7-3 victory over British Columbia’s Kesa Van Osch (5-4).

Other early matches saw Alberta top Newfoundland 9-5, New Brunswick beat P.E.I. 9-6 and Nova Scotia down Yukon 7-3.

Top teams Canada, Manitoba and Saskatchewan were all scheduled to play later Wednesday night.