CurlingZone: Brown Bound For PointsBet Elite 8

Kamloops' Corryn Brown (photo: Anil Mungal, GSOC) hitched up a steal train in an 8-4 victory over Edmonton's Serena Gray-Withers.

Brown, with long time teammates Erin Pincott and Sam Fisher saw their second Dezaray Hawes migrate to Alberta last season, moving with partner Tyler Tardi to Calgary, opening a spot in the line-up ahead of last season.

Jennifer Armstrong filled the role last season, herself moving east back to New Brunswick this offseason, re-opening the spot at second.

With Kerri Galusha's competitive team disbanding last season, it left Sarah Koltun a free agent after seven seasons in Yellowknife, the native of Whitehorse having made 9 Scotties appearances.

Koltun's medical residency originally appeared to be putting her curling career on hold, though the fit became natural for Brown.

Koltun joined the lineup, with the team having competed in one event so far this season, a disappointing 0-5 result at the Saville Shootout in Edmonton.

Coming in to the PointsBet Invitational, with Brown still seeking their first win of the season, an opening end steal didn't set the tone as intended.

Brown came back with one point in the second end, with changing fortunes seeing a steal to take the lead in the third end, then three more stolen points to follow in the fourth end.

Gray-Withers got one point back in the fifth end.

In the game's turning point, Brown, leading 5-2, faced two buried Gray-Withers stones in the sixth end, with one covering the pin hole creating an almost impossible shot to score.

Brown's last shot tapped the Gray-Withers shot stone off the button, just enough to win the measure to push their lead to four.

Gray-Withers returned in the seventh end with a runback for two points to cut the deficit to two.

Brown was then set up for two points in return in the eighth end, left with a draw to backing, though coming light, the BC-squad settled for a single point and the 7-4 lead.

Brown pushed back against Gray-Withers' hammer in the ninth end, attacking to ensure the end wasn't blanked, with the resulting steal putting the team up four points into the final end.

Brown rans Gray-Withers out of stones for the 8-4 win.

Brown lines up to play Ottawa's Rachel Homan in Friday's Elite 8 round at Winsport in Calgary.

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