Just as everything seemed to be going in favor of Rachel Homan and Team Canada, China — who was desperate for a win — derailed the Canadians attempt to win their fourth straight match. China, led by skip Wang Bingyu, defeated Canada 7-5 in a game that took the final stone to decide a victor.
Tough 7-5 loss to China, but Canada’s @TeamHoman is still in the hunt for a playoff spot in #Pyeongchang2018 women’s #curling play. #WeBelieve #GoCanadaGo
— Curling Canada (@CurlingCanada) February 20, 2018
Canada entered Tuesday with all of the momentum that a team could possess but when it was time for the first end to begin, the Canadians struggled to get on the scoreboard. Through the first two ends, China held a slight two-point advantage while the Canadians remained scoreless. Canada cut the deficit to one before they overtook China for what served as its only lead of the game — a 3-2 lead in the fifth end.
Bingyu and China entered the intermission in a comfortable position. They had just landed three stones inside the house to claim three points, surely using the last throw of the end to China's advantage. Thus the battle between skips began as Homan and Bingyu exchanged crucial throws to make an appearance on the scoreboard.
In the eighth end, the Canadian faith inside of Gangneung Curling Centre started to get behind their team. A few "Let's go Canada" chants, while faint, circulated on Canada's last throw of the end. Canada was in position to tie the game up but on Bingyu's throw, she split Canada's rocks to regain the two-point lead. The back-and-forth affair continued in the following two ends. Canada ultimately cut into the deficit again but, in many instances, the advantage fell to which team held the hammer. In this case it was China, who solidified the 7-5 win.
A loss to China severely damages Canada's chance to advance. China, who lost two straight before Tuesday, leaps to fifth place where it sits in a tie with the United States (4-4). Canada falls to 3-4 and sits in seventh place. While the Canadians have played one less game than four of the six teams ahead in the standings, they will likely have to win the remaining games left on their schedule to have a shot at a medal.
Team Homan won't have much time to dwell on their loss to China, which may benefit the team, as they face Great Britain at 7:05 (EST) on Tuesday. Great Britain (5-3) is in third place in round robin play