British Isles International Series 2024: Ladies Day One Report
It wasn’t to be for the Scottish ladies who fell 15-9 to Wales in the opening session of the 2024 British Isles championships at Leamington Spa. With three single hand matches, along with three full rinks on the green, there was plenty of quality on display. In sessions two and three however, the ladies turned it around, putting themselves well and truly in the title fight.
Session One: Singles and Fours vs Wales
Singles
Our first singles game saw Alison Lamont face newly crowned British under 25 pairs champion Lauren Gowen.
The Welsh starlet started fast, taking seven shots in the opening three ends. From there, Alison looked to have found her feet in the tie, racking up two singles and a fantastic four on the sixth end. Gowen however, managed to pull away shortly after, scooping five shots, to lead 12-6 after nine ends. The game continued on this trend unfortunately, and Gowen continued putting Alison under pressure, leading to a 21-9 defeat for the Scot.
Our second singles tie saw Emma McIntyre face off with Sara Nicholls. Despite being level at four, after the same number of ends, Nicholls managed to pull away from McIntyre, and steamrolled into a 12-4 advantage.
Emma dug her heels in however and pulled it back to 13-9. Emma continued on, and kept fighting back, lying a fantastic four in the fourteenth end, before Nicholls managed to cut it down, with a well-drawn bowl. This theme sadly stayed the same, with Sara Nicholls playing well to turn heads on a number of occasions. Sadly, this was enough for Sara to overcome McIntyre, with the score finishing 21-15.
Our final singles game was incredibly tight. Dee Hoggan fought well in a close battle against Emma Gittins. The game flipped on its head throughout, with the two players all square at eight, after ten ends. An impressive three for Hoggan saw her push into a 12-8 lead, before Gittins rattled off four consecutive pairs and a single to lead 17-12.
Once again, Dee worked hard and got back in front at 18-17, though consecutive doubles in the last two ends meant that Gittins took the win.
Fours
Our three rinks all came out victorious in the first session, though the tighter scorelines handed the aggregate points just and no more to the Welsh.
Firstly, our four of Kara Lees, Rebecca Houston, Lawra Cox and Gail Notman beat a strong four skipped by Hannah Williams 12-10 in what was a great game. It was a hotly contested tie, with the two teams trading the lead over the proceedings. With the game all square with two ends to play, the Scots pulled together to produce back-to-back singles, winning the Scottish ladies their first points.
Two rinks across from Gail and co. saw a great bowling display, with Dawn Anderson, Sarah-Jane Ewing, Wendy Grant and Megan Grantham cruise to an 18-12 victory over the Wales side skipped by Ysie White. Racing into a 9-0 lead in the opening five ends, the Scots were eventually pegged back to 9-6 by the Welsh. They showed no signs of worry though, and managed the game excellently, leading 18-10 with one end to play. Chasing shots, trying to work on the aggregate, the Scots were unlucky not extend their lead, losing a two and having to settle for a six-shot victory.
The third and final fours game of the opening session saw Heather Wallace, Carla Banks, Rachel Sinclair and Lynn Lees winning 18-10 against the Welsh rink skipped by Caroline Taylor. A fast start saw the Scots lead 8-1 after four ends, and this trend continued, with the team playing some massive bowls to maintain their lead. At 14-7 with three ends to play, the four reeled off consecutive doubles to lead by 11 shots heading into the final end. A Welsh treble broke our hearts however, confirming the aggregate for the Welsh side.
Overall, the final score read 95-90 in Wales’ favour, ending with a final score of 15-9.
Session Two: Pairs and Triples vs Wales
A much improved second session saw the Scottish Ladies take their revenge on Wales. An 18-6 win recovered the deficit suffered this morning, setting them up for a scintillating final session.
Pairs
Dawn Anderson and Megan Grantham overcame Amy Williams’ pair 22-16 in what looked to be a game of two halves. It was nip and tuck in the beginning, with the Scots trailing 4-3 after five ends. A huge six in the next end put the Scots in front, where they would stay for the remainder of the game. They scored consistently in five ends between the eighth and the thirteenth, before three ends nearly derailed the victory. Eleven shots in three ends gave the Welsh hope, though Megan and Dawn’s quality shone through in the end, scoring three shots in the last two ends.
Carla Banks and Jess Weir took a score in the last end, contributing to the aggregate, despite defeat. They trailed 16-2 after eleven ends, following a slow start from the ladies, before picking up a good four, to trail by ten. They continued chipping away, though were rooted with a ten-shot deficit playing the final end. This was not the case for long, as a fantastic end from both Jess and Carla, to scoop the four and tighten up the aggregate.
Our final pairs game saw another tight loss, with Eilidh Weir and Rachel Sinclair falling to Sara Nicholls and Ysie White. Trailing 4-0 after two, the pair took a treble, followed by a four, to lead 7-4. The side held onto their lead until the eleventh end, where a Welsh treble saw them fall behind. Unfortunately, they would never cross the side again, though they kept it tight, helping secure the aggregate points.
Triples
Sarah Jane Ewing, Dee Hoggan and Alison Lamont saw a comfortable win in the triples as they dominated Hannah Williams’ triple to win 22-10.
Quick out the traps, the pair raced into a 5-1 lead after five ends. They continued to dominate, with all three playing some quality bowls to lead 13-4 after eleven ends of bowls.
A sticky patch saw the Welsh fight back to 13-10 down, but a strong finish saw nine shots in the final three to secure a Scottish victory.
Kara Lees, Rebecca Houston and Gail Notman were on phenomenal form, winning by 22 shots against Bethan Russ’ triple.
Domination ensued in the opening 10 ends, with quality drawing and conversion shots in full flow, leading 18-2 just after the halfway stage. A double, followed by a single in the eleventh and twelfth ends saw them lead by 19 shots, before shots started being traded across the two teams. A huge score of a four in the penultimate end killed the game as a contest, as the triple conceded one shot in the final end.
The final triple of Emma McIntyre, Beth Riva and Lynn Lees eased to a 24-14 victory over Caroline Taylor’s triple.
Inside the first four ends, the Scots raced into an 11-0 lead, a gap which would be too much for the Welsh to overcome. A four from the Welsh in the eighth end looked to cause a slight wobble in the Scotland camp, though they replied well, and took five shots in three ends to restore the eleven-shot gap. No side could pull away from the other in the latter stages, and a four from the Scots in the last end left a ten-shot win.
Overall score: Scotland 124-86 (18 points to 6)
Session 3: Singles and Fours vs Jersey
Singles
Alison Lamont fell 21-11 in the first singles game against Lindsey Greechan of Jersey.
Alison struggled early, finding herself 9-2 down after six ends. The lead continued to open through to the eleventh end, where Alison found herself 15-4 down. A spirited comeback saw her pick up four singles, reaching 17-8, before a treble made the comeback look possible. A full house from Greechan in the last end though, bedded the Scot unfortunately.
Dee Hoggan also fell in the singles to Megan Kivlin 21-14. The game was close in the opening stages, sitting six-a-piece after nine ends. A crucial four from Kilvin however gave her the upper hand, as she fought to a 17-6 in the next six ends, with Hoggan unable to reply.
It looked possible for the bowler from East Lothian, as she dragged herself to within five, trailing 18-13, though a strong finish from Greechan saw her see it out, 21-14.
Emma McIntyre recorded Scotland’s only singles victory today, winning 21-11 against Katie Nixon. McIntyre took many a count in the game, controlling the contest for large proceedings.
It did not start perfectly however, and after seven ends, Emma was trailing 7-4. A second four of the afternoon saw her cross Nixon, and she never looked back. Emma claimed two trebles, and a double, along with a handful of singles in what was a dominating close to the game, to come out victorious.
Fours
Heather Wallace, Carla Banks, Rachel Sinclair and Lynn Lees were back in action as a four, picking up their second win of the day, this time against Jersey. A count of a six in the third end set them on their way to record a four-shot victory over Rachel MacDonald’s four. Despite scoring on four of the five next ends, Jersey could not pull away from Lynn and her team. Another big count in the eleventh end, scoring a five saw the game end as a contest, with some fantastic game management to lose just two singles in the last two ends, leading to a 16-12 win.
Dawn Anderson, Sarah-Jane Ewing, Wendy Grant and Megan Grantham provided the result of the day, winning 27-4 against Fiona Archibald’s rink. Utter dominance from start to finish saw the Scots lead 9-2 after eight ends, before picking up three consecutive fours, followed by two threes to lead 27-2 with two to play. Knowing that the big board was in their favour, game management saw Megan and her team drop just two single shots, running out 27-4 victors
Kara Lees, Rebecca Houston, Lawra Cox and Gail Notman noted a 20-12 win as well, though they were pushed all the way, despite the scoreline.
The Scots scored on all four of the first opening ends, to lead 7-0 before losing a quintuple, which brought the Jersey side, skipped by Chloe Greechan back into the game. Gail and her team then pulled away once more to 10-5, before being pegged back to within two once again.
A crucial three in the twelfth end saw the lead extended to 15-8, before a five of their own in the penultimate end saw them confirm the victory. Despite losing a three in the last end, the fours secured the three points, with their 20-12 scoreline.
Final score: Scotland 109-81 Jersey (18 points to 6)
After Day One, the ladies find themselves in third place in the overall table, just three points off the pace. It is truly all to play for still this weekend.