Kingtson, Ont. - British Columbia is coming home with the bronze medal and some other top hardware from the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
The Kelowna Curling Club team of Kelly Scott, Jeanna Schraeder, Sasha Carter and Sarah Wazney (in her first Scotties) won the bronze medal on Sunday afternoon with a 10-8 victory over Team Canada. Schraeder and Carter also earned personal honours to accompany the medal.
Ontario beat Manitoba 9-6 to win the gold-medal match in the evening.
In the bronze-medal contest - which was a rematch of last year's championship final - B.C. won the high-scoring back-and-forth affair against Heather Nedohin and her Team Canada squad out of Alberta.
"We are so happy, so pleased," Scott said after the victory. "It was a battle, we had to work for it and we're proud for Sarah and proud for B.C."
"We had a great game out there, and that's how you want to leave an event like this," added the two-time national champion skip who also won a world title in 2007.
Earlier, the Marj Mitchell Sportsmanship Award was presented to Carter, the team's second who was making her sixth appearance at the Scotties. The award winner is chosen by all the curlers in the competition and recognizes an individual who exemplifies the spirit of curling.
"As I've aged and gained some experience, to me the most important thing about the game is actually the friendships you make, so it's nice to be noted by your fellow competitors," Carter said. "You can be a competitor, but you can be a good person too, and a friend, and I have really good friends across the country because of this sport."
Schraeder won a second-team all-star for the second-best shooting percentage among thirds in this year's event at the K-Rock Centre. In 2010, she won the same award, and was also a first-team all-star in 2006 and 2007.
"I think it's more of a testament to my team, than me, because if I'm shooting well, that means the broom is in the right spot . . . and it means my sweepers are sweeping my rocks to the right place," Schraeder said. "It's really more of a team award, than an individual award."