Jennifer Jones remains the frontrunner at the Manitoba Scotties in Winnipeg keeping her undefeated record intact to lock down a berth in the 1 vs. 1 page playoff game.
Jones climbed to 6-0 in the Asham Group of the round-robin stage doubling up on Joelle Brown 8-4 Friday afternoon and defeating Briane Meilleur 9-5 during the evening draw.
The 2014 Olympic gold medallist Jones wraps up round-robin play Saturday against Shannon Birchard, who climbed to a 4-2 record with a 7-4 win over Meilleur and a 9-8 comeback victory over Brown. Birchard scored three in the ninth to tie it and stole one in the 10th when Brown rolled heavy on the last shot of the game.
Only the top two teams from both divisions advance to the playoffs. Birchard is in the chase tied for second in the Asham Group with Cheryl Reed, who beat Colleen Kilgallen 10-5 and Christine MacKay 6-5 in an extra end.
Meanwhile, Kerri Einarson has grabbed a share of top spot in the Express Group.
The defending champion topped Cathy Overton-Clapham 9-5 and Michelle Englot 7-3.
Einarson is now tied with Englot for first place in the division with matching 5-1 records.
Einarson has one more round-robin game to go Saturday against Darcy Robertson, who is still in the mix with a 4-2 record.
Robertson fell to Englot 6-5 in the morning draw before bouncing back to beat Overton-Clapham 6-5.
Overton-Clapham, a five-time Canadian champion, has been eliminated from playoff contention with a 3-3 record.
NOTES: The winner will represent Manitoba at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts running Feb. 18-26 in St. Catharines, Ont. … Watch live coverage of the Manitoba Scotties Sunday on Sportsnet starting with the semifinal at 10 a.m. ET.