Laurie Deprez and her La Salle team have won the Manitoba’s Credit Unions 2023 Master Women’s Championship. Deprez, Deb McCreanor, Lori Pelissier, and Bev Atkins defeated Sandra Cowling’s Hamiota team 5-3 in the Sunday morning final in Thompson.
The Deprez foursome completed the championship with five wins and a loss. Their loss came in the round robin to Team Cowling who were unbeaten with four wins in the five-team round robin. The perfect record gave the Hamiota team a bye to the Sunday morning final.
In the Saturday afternoon semi-final, Team Deprez had an 8-7 win over defending champion Judy Colwell and her East St. Paul team.
In the Sunday final game, a stolen two on the fifth end gave Deprez a 4-3 lead and another stolen single on the seventh, when Cowling rolled out facing two, gave the new champions a 5-3 lead coming home.
The steal on the fifth end resulted from a Cowling out turn hit over-curling on the target stone biting the four foot circle. After a blanked sixth end, again facing two on the seventh end, Cowling’s out turn hit did not curl up enough and she rolled out to give up the steal of one.
The Cowling team, playing in their fourth consecutive Masters final, ran out of stones coming home. Her Hamiota team had won the title in 2019 & 2020.
For Deprez and Atkins, it is a first championship in the Masters category but all four team members are former Manitoba champions.
Laurie Deprez skipped the 2012 Manitoba Senior Women’s champion team. Deb McCreanor skipped the Manitoba Club champions teams in 2018 & 2021 while Bev Atkins played second on the 1984 Manitoba Mixed Champion team.
For Lori Pelissier, it is a fourth Manitoba championship. She was the second on Mixed champion teams in 1995 and 2000 as well as skipping the 2012 Club champions.
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