Defending champion Homan clinches playoff spot at Scotties with win over B.C.'s Brown

Rachel Homan's curling Team Canada secured a playoff spot at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts with a 7-5 win over B.C.'s Corryn Brown.

Homan improved to 6-0 at the Canadian women's curling championships. The defending champions had two games remaining in Pool A's preliminary round.

The top three teams in each pool of nine advance and Homan was chased by three teams at 4-2 — B.C.'s Brown and Alberta's Kayla Skrlik and Selena Sturmay.

Saskatchewan's Nancy Martin beat Nunavut's Julia Weagle to get to 4-3. Northern Ontario's Krista McCarville thumped Prince Edward Island's Jane DiCarlo 15-2 and was 3-4.

Nova Scotia's Christina Black and Ontario's Danielle Inglis at 4-1, and Quebec Laurie St-Georges at 4-2, were the frontrunners heading into the Pool B draw.