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MONTREAL -- Kesa Van Oschs British Columbia team feels good now about their choice of veteran Patti Knezevic to serve as alternate at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Doug Baldwin Elite Jersey . With Van Osch out with a flu bug that has been rampaging through the tournament, Knezevic stepped in to lead B.C. (4-3) to a pair of victories on Tuesday before 1,131 at the Maurice Richard Arena. B.C. downed Allison Flaxeys Ontario team 7-3 in the morning draw and then saw Knezevic draw to the button with her final stone to beat Sarah Koltun of the Yukon 8-7 in the afternoon. "We wanted someone with a lot of experience as our fifth player because weve watched the Scotties for years and this happens (often) that the flu goes around," said B.C. third Stephanie Baier. "We wanted someone who could come in at any position so we wouldnt have to shuffle around and wed stay at our comfort level." The illness kept six players out of the morning draw, when Saskatchewans Stefanie Lawton downed Quebec (1-6) 8-4 with only three players on her team. Van Osch was the lone player missing in the afternoon, but then her lead Carley Sandwith had to quit after two ends, leaving them with only three. Quebec was missing second Brittany ORourke in the morning. They got her back for the afternoon session, only to see her leave again after eight ends. "She threw up in the third and the sixth ends, and finally got off the ice," Ross said of her teammate. "Were in contamination mode." In the evening draw, Team Canadas Rachel Homan improved to 6-0 with a 10-3 win over Nova Scotias Heather Smith (2-5). Nova Scotia was also missing coach Peter Gallant to sickness. Manitobas Chelsea Carey and Lawton are tied for second place with 5-1 records. Carey cruised past the Yukon 10-4, while Lawton defeated P.E.I. 7-3. In the other late match, New Brunswicks Andrea Crawford earned a 7-4 victory against Ontario. The last time a Scotties was disrupted by a flu bug was in 2012 in Red Deer, Alta. This time, the sickness is striking players, coaches and officials at random with an illness that seems to last about 24 hours. B.C.s young squad from Victoria looked to be in trouble when they started the tournament at 2-3 and it only looked worse when Van Osch went down. But gritty work by a relatively healthy Baier and second Jessie Sanderson and Knezevics steady hand put the team back in the hunt for a playoff spot. When Team Van Osch won the B.C. provincial championships last month to earn their first trip to the Scotties, they immediately asked Knezevic to be their fifth player. "It was an unexpected call, for sure," said Knezevic, who made it to the B.C. final three times but had never got to the Scotties. "I was very honoured. "I was just hoping that I could bring a bit of experience and support and be able to step in if needed." Baier said that if Van Osch is able to play Wednesday she will return as the skip and that Knezevic would go back to being the alternate. If Sandwith cant play, Knezevic will play lead. "We decided as a team that I would play wherever a player stepped out of, so no situation would be a surprise to us," Knezevic said. "We knew going in that Carley was not well and shed give it her best shot. "Then we just had to make the transition. The girls have been great. We were trying to be as positive as we could and work together with what we had. I think that was the ticket." When a team has only three players, the first two throw three stones each and the skip throws two. It means that most of time, only one player can sweep. It wasnt easy for B.C., as 20-year-old Koltun scored two in the ninth to take a 7-6 lead, then left Knezevic with a tricky draw for two in the 10th. Baier jumped in at the end to help Sanderson in some furious sweeping to get the winning rock to the button. Saskatchewan was in the same boat when second Sherri Singler and third Sherry Anderson were unable to play. Lawton got an early morning call from coach Rick Folk to say that Singler was sick, and later learned that Anderson was down as well. "You plan for the worst, but this scenario of having two players out didnt come up, so we just had to go with it," said Lawton. "The girls jumped right in and felt comfortable with the positions they were thrown into." Marliese Kasner moved up from lead to play third, while alternate Dailene Sivertson stepped in to lead and do most of the sweeping. "The girls did a great job," said Lawton. "Its different when you only have one sweeper. "You want to give it a bit more so they dont have to work too hard, but we managed to pull through and come through with a win. The girls played great in positions theyre not used to." Kasner said she played third on Lawtons teams at the 2005 and 2009 Scotties, so it was a quick adjustment. "It was different," she said. "We knew there would be just one sweeper so we joked that the second sweeper doesnt do much anyhow. We threw like we would in any other game and didnt think about having one less sweeper. We just went shot by shot." A nervy moment came in the seventh end, when Lawton made a clever draw into three Quebec stones to prevent a steal. Brandon Mebane Seahawks Jersey .com) - The Edmonton Oilers have been in spoiler mode for a while now, however as the season winds down they become more and more dangerous to opponents fighting for a playoff berth. Cortez Kennedy Elite Jersey .5 forward somersault dive may have fallen a little short on Sunday, but the two-time Olympic silver medallist says he feels encouraged by his performance at the Montreal Canada Cup. PORTLAND, Ore. -- As time wound down in the Trail Blazers victory over the Oklahoma City, LaMarcus Aldridge was showered with shouts of "MVP! MVP!" from the Portland fans. Aldridge had a season-high 38 points and added 13 rebounds in the Blazers 111-104 win Wednesday night that snapped the Thunders eight-game winning streak. It was his ninth double-double and 15th game with at least 20 points this season. He made a career-high 17 field goals. "Just surreal. It was humbling to have that moment here," Aldridge said of the crowds reaction. "Ive been here so long and Ive had very few of those type of chants here. So that was fun. I thought that made the night complete for me." The victory gives the surprising Blazers a 16-3 record this season, best in the Western Conference and second only to Indiana overall. Portland has won 14 of its last 15 games, a stretch that includes an 11-game winning streak. Nicolas Batums 3-pointer with 29.9 seconds to go all but sealed it for Portland, which had lost seven straight against Oklahoma City. The Thunder led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but Aldridge led a third-quarter rally and Portland built a 91-84 lead on consecutive 3-pointers from Dorell Wright and Damian Lillard with 7:58 left. Russell Westbrooks 3-pointer pulled the Thunder within 95-94 before Reggie Jacksons two free throws gave them a short-lived lead with 5:34 to go. Aldridge hit a layup and a jumper to make it 105-100 for the Blazers. Durant and Westbrook narrowed it again with consecutive baskets, but Batums 3-pointer made it 108-104 before Durant missed a 3 on the other end. The Blazers made free throws for the final margin. Durant finished with 33 for the Thunder, who were playing the second game of a back-to-back after defeating Sacramento 97-95 Tuesday night. Westbrook had 21 points. "He was shooting turnarounds from almost the 3-point line over the top of our bigs and knocking them down," Durant said of Aldridge. "Thats what great players do, they come through in the clutch and make shots." Batum and Lillard added 14 points apiece for the Blazers, who were coming off a 106-102 victory over Indiana on Monday. Portland is 8-1 at home. Aldridge scored 16 of his points in the third quarter, when the Blazers outscored the Thunder 35-21. Doug Baldwin Authentic Jersey. "I dont know if I have the words, to be honest," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said of Aldridges night. "Offensively, obviously he can score. But I liked his toughness, I liked his leadership, I liked his competitive fire. As much as he played very well, it was a lot of the intangibles that I really appreciated from him tonight." Wrights bank jumper evened the game at 27 to start the second quarter. It was close throughout the half, with Portlands Batum on Durant much of the time. Durant took off on a fast break for a dunk and added a free throw to give the Thunder a 55-47 lead, their biggest of the game to that point. Westbrook attempted a 3-pointer and the refs called a foul on Portlands Wesley Matthews, prompting an angry reaction from Stotts, who was given a technical, and the Thunder finished the half on a 9-0 for a 59-48 advantage. Durant led all scorers in the half with 17 points. "They hit a lot of tough 2s on us, shots we can live with," Durant said. "But they made enough to beat us." One bright spot for the Blazers was centre Robin Lopez, who had 12 points and five rebounds in the first half. Acquired by the Blazers from New Orleans in a three-team off-season trade, Lopez finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Batums 3 got the Blazers within 67-64 before Matthews layup got them within one midway through the third quarter. Batums pull-up jumper gave Portland a 70-69 lead, and Aldridge added a long jumper. The Blazers clung to the lead until Durants jumper tied it at 78, but Aldridge answered with a turnaround jumper to cap a 10-point streak for the two-time All-Star. "Ive been saying it from the start -- hes the best power forward in the game," Matthews said NOTES: Oklahoma City is 9-0 at home bu
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