Jennifer Jones falls to Rachel Homan in Canada Cup round-robin

Ottawa's Rachel Homan improved to 5-1 in round-robin play at the Canada Cup curling tournament with a 9-4 victory over Olympic champion Jennifer Jones on Friday night.

Winnipeg's Jones jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before Homan came back in the third end and scored nine straight points to earn the win.

"We just had to erase what had happened," Homan said after giving up deuces to Jones in the first two ends. "We needed to make sure we were making our shots the next end ... you look at the scoreboard it's a little overwhelming. We're excited we got to the final of the Canada Cup, we've never (done) that before."

In the night's other women's draws, Heather Nedohin of Sherwood, Park, Alta., slipped past Sherry Middaugh of Coldwater, Ont. 7-4.

Homan sits atop the standings, while Nedohin and Val Sweeting of Edmonton, who beat Middaugh 5-4 in the afternoon, are 4-2. Jones and Saskatoon's Sherry Anderson are 3-3.

Homan lost her first match of the tournament 8-3 to Anderson in the afternoon draw Friday.

On the men's side of the late draw, Calgary's Kevin Koe scored seven straight in the final four ends to beat Brad Gushue of St. John's, N.L., 10-4, Winnipeg's Mike McEwen defeated the Canada rink skipped by Calgary's John Morris 7-4, and Jim Cotter of Vernon, B.C., slipped past Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., 6-4.

Howard edged Koe 4-3 in the afternoon draw.

Howard, McEwen and Olympic champion Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., lead the men's groups with 4-2 records. Koe and Gushue sit at 3-3 while Cotter is 2-4. Morris is 1-5.

Jacobs and Jones both escaped with extra-end victories in the morning draw.

Jacobs got the win when McEwen came up short with his last-rock draw attempt to allow Jacobs to steal two in the 11th for a critical 7-5 win. Jacobs followed that up by downing Morris 11-6 in the afternoon.

Anderson was also short with her last-rock draw and Jones didn't need to throw her final stone in a 7-6 victory.

In the other morning games, Gushue beat Cotter 5-4, and Sweeting scored deuces in the sixth and 10th ends to beat Allison Flaxey of Listowel, Ont., 8-5. Flaxey (1-5) won her first match of the tournament in the afternoon draw, edging Nedohin 6-4.