KAMLOOPS, March 1… Kelowna’s Kelly Scott faces Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon, while Edmonton rivals Kevin Koe and Kevin Martin will battle in the finals of the Strauss Canada Cup, Sunday at the Interior Savings Centre.

Saturday night, Martin dusted off Brad Gushue of St. John’s, 8-2, while Scott outlasted Calgary’s Cheryl Bernard, 10-6 to advance to Sunday’s finals, live on CBC-TV, beginning at 9:00 am PT/12 Noon ET.

When you’re hot, you’re hot. …and right now, there’s no team hotter than Martin.  His victory over Gushue was his fifth in a row, including his third of the day, after first eliminating Pat Simmons, 10-2 in a second tiebreaker this morning, then knocking off Glenn Howard in the Page 2 vs 2 game, 7-6.

Martin didn’t waste any time putting the boots to Gushue, opening up with three in the first, then taking a deuce in the fourth for a 5-1 lead.  Gushue got one back before the fifth end break, but in the sixth, another Martin trio prompted the 2006 Olympic gold medallist to shake hands and call it an evening.  Gushue also lost the Page 1 vs 1 game to Koe in the morning.

Martin, a two-time Cup winner in 2005 and 2006, now faces a familiar foe in Koe, who he’s battled in past provincial championships.  Koe beat Martin, 7-3 on Friday morning, before Martin started his five-game winning streak.

Scott, the 2007 Canadian and world champion, also proved a comfortable winner in her match with Bernard, who had taken Section A with a 5-0 before suffering her first loss this morning to Lawton in the Page 1 vs 1 game, 7-6.

After Bernard scored a deuce in the first end, Scott got that back in the second, then proceeded to steal a single in the third and a pair in the fourth for a 5-2 lead.  A Bernard deuce closed the gap in the fifth, but Scott counted three in the sixth for an 8-4 margin.  Bernard cut it to 8-6 after seven, but a Scott single in the eighth and a steal of one in the ninth signalled the end.

Scott had advanced to the semi-final by edging defending Cup champion Jennifer Jones, 10-9 in the Page 2 vs 2 game in the afternoon.

The winners of the Strauss Canada Cup not only receive $25,000, but more importantly, also become part of the pool of 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams eligible for the 2009 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials, which will determine Canada’s representatives for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

The winning teams also earn berths into the 2008 Continental Cup in Camrose, Alberta, December 18-21 as members of Team North America and return as the defending Canada Cup champions when the event moves to Yorkton, Saskatchewan next year, March 18-22. 

However, if Scott beats Lawton on Sunday, she’ll become the second team to qualify directly into the Trials, joining Jennifer Jones.   She’ll do so by virtue of her three victories in qualifying events….last year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Worlds and this year’s Strauss Canada Cup.

Martin has only one leg up for a berth directly into the Trials so far….last year’s Players’ Championship, but a first-place finish on the Canadian Team Ranking System this season or next will also be sufficient to parachute him directly into the Trials as well.

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