Silvernagle falls to Team Canada in back-and-forth game

It came down to half an inch but Robyn Silvernagle and her rink came up just short against Team Canada.

Trailing 7-6 in the 10th end and rather try a draw for one point to force an extra end, Silvernagle elected to go for a double takeout and a win rather than give Chelsea Carey’s squad the hammer.

“Playing a great team like that in an extra (end) isn’t always a gimme to have a win when you don’t have hammer, so we thought, ‘Why not just go for it?’ ” Silvernagle said following Saskatchewan’s 9-6 Scotties Tournament of Hearts loss to Team Canada. “We needed a quarter of a rock.”

Silvernagle’s attempt didn’t catch enough of Canada’s rock, just nudging it before the Saskatchewan rock slid through the house. Carey’s team stole two points to clinch the win at the Canadian women’s curling championship tournament.

Afterwards, Carey thought Silvernagle made the right call going for the win.

“It’s tough to win in an extra end without the hammer and it was makeable. It looked like she missed that by a lot but she didn’t — she hits another half-inch of that and it’s made and it’s the win,” Carey said.

“It wasn’t easy but your chances of hitting that are probably better than your chance of winning without the hammer in the extra.”

It was a back-and-forth affair between the teams at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw. There were five lead changes throughout the game, without any blank ends being recorded.

Silvernagle and her team had a lot of support in the crowd, with thousands of fans out in green to support the North Battleford-based rink.

“It was incredible to make a shot. It gives you goosebumps but you really have to focus in and stick to your game,” Silvernagle said.

Silvernagle and her rink fell to 1-1 in the early stages of the tournament, while Carey improved to 1-1.

Saskatchewan is to play Lori Eddy’s Nunavut rink at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.