Camera courtesy of Voth's Countrywide Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1

Russia played spoiler against Scotland, beating the Eve Muirhead foursome 9-5 in Draw 16 at the Ford World Women's Curling Championships.

 

Muirhead was left with what she called a "thin, over-the-face, spinning triple", or more simply, a "circus shot", on her final stone, which she complety missed.

 

The loss puts more on the line for the Scots heading into tonight's game with Jennifer Jones and Team Canada.  She says they need to put the loss behind them, and move on.  She adds, it will be a massive game, and they need to focus hard, play the way they can, and get off to a sharper start.

 

Other Draw 16 scores had Germany beating Latvia 4-2, the USA beating China 9-5 to eliminate the defending champs from the playoffs, and Denmark edging Japan 8-7.

 

Draw 17 will have the pivotal Canada-Scotland match.  Also, Germany faces Switzerland, Sweden takes on China, and Norway takes on Denmark.

 

In the standings, Canada leads with a record of 9-1, and is assured a spot in tomorrow's 1 vs 2 page playoff game.  Scotland is second at 8-2; Germany, Sweden, and the USA are tied for third place, with the Americans now finished round robin play at 7-4.  A loss by Scotland, coupled with a win by Germany, will put the Germans in second and Scotland in third.  A Scottish win or German loss will clinch a 1-2 game spot for Scotland.  Losses by both Germany and Sweden will keep the Americans alive and force a tie-breaker, while a win by either Germany or Sweden will eliminate the USA.

 

A sell-out is expected for tonight's final round-robin draw, which starts at 7:30pm at the Credit Union iplex.