In curling, thereB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s no better response to an opponentB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s steal than returning the favour.
The Kesa Van Osch rink from Nanaimo did just that in spades Sunday at the Victoria Curling Club, breaking open a close final at the Scotties B.C. WomenB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s Championship with points in four straight ends to wrap up an 11-4 victory over defending champ Karla ThompsonB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s Kamloops/Golden Ears-based rink.
Van Osch, joined by sisters Marika at third and Kalia at second, and Amy Gibson at lead, will represent B.C. at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Canadian WomenB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s Curling Championship in Penticton, running Jan. 27 to Feb. 4.
After going 5-2 in round robin play and placing second in a tiebreaker over Team Brown from Kamloops/Royal City and Team Gushulak from Royal City/Vancouver, Van Osch beat Thompson 10-4 in the 1 vs. 2 game on Saturday to gain a berth in the final.
Team Thompson, which nearly ran the table in round robin play by going 6-1, came from behind to beat the Corryn Brown rink 5-3 in the Sunday morning semifinal to gain another shot at Van Osch. BrownB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s foursome was awarded the bronze medal in their first year of play in the womenB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s division.