Home-green advantage may have played a part but Scott and Stevens were made to scrap for every point outside their fifth end maximum, as they took on the composite combination of PBA international Carman and Southland representative Elder, who were the only undefeated team in two days of competition to progress through to the final.
The only blimp on the result sheet for Scott and Stevens was a 13-13 draw with the Forbury Park combination of Carolyn West and Tongan international Malia Tavite.
The draw in section play provided a huge wake-up call for Scott and Stevens as they then progressed through post-section with a series of merciless scorelines. But for Elder and Carman, their first big test came in a nail-biter of a semifinal contest against the composite pair of Linda Milne and Christine Buchanan.
With the game locked up at 11-11 after the mandatory 15 ends, a golden-point extra end was required to determine who would play Scott and Stevens in the final. Elder played superb shots as skip to secure a place in the final.
Despite vast experience, it was Carman and Elder's first appearance in the classic women's tournament.
But for Scott, whose best result in the tournament was as a runner-up four years ago with Jan Shirley, it proved an opportunity to put a few ghosts to rest.
Scott and Stevens had a confident start, scoring two on the first end, but Elder and Carman fought back to hold a 4-2 lead until the fateful fifth end that saw Scott and Stevens score the maximum six shots.
Then, as Carman and Elder battled back to trail by just one shot three ends later the game was momentarily held up when a duck and her young duckling wandered on to the field of play.
When play resumed, Scott and Stevens scored three shots and gained the necessary momentum to put the game out of the reach of Elder and Carman over the remaining five ends.
There always appeared a certain X-factor to the play of Scott and Stevens as they maintained cool heads and calmness under pressure.
"They're great opponents. And there was some good bowls played.
"I would grab what I thought was a couple of shots and Shona would just come up and break my heart,” Scott said.
Elder, who made the journey from Te Anua to play, was one of many of the South Island’s top female bowlers in the prestigious tournament.
While Carman and Scott may have been adversaries in the final yesterday the two had combined to win the national pairs year 1-8 inter centre title four years ago.
The composite pair of Vicki Robinson and Ruth Williams defeated West and Tavite (Forbury Park) 9-6 in a hard-fought plate final, and Joanna Toogood and Annie McDonald beat Janet Swallow and Cathy King 16-7 in the consolation final.
- Wayne Parsons
