| Molli Ward | |
| Birth Date: | 10 December 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Sackville, New Brunswick |
| Curling Club: | Sackville CC, Sackville, NB[1] |
| Skip: | Melissa Adams |
| Third: | Jaclyn Crandall |
| Second: | Molli Ward |
| Lead: | Kendra Lister |
| Alternate: | Kayla Russell |
| Hearts Appearances: | 1 |
| Top Cca Ranking: | 47th (2023–24) |
Molli Ward (born December 10, 1999) is a Canadian curler from Sackville, New Brunswick.[2] She currently plays second on Team Melissa Adams.
Throughout her junior career, Ward played second on the Shaelyn Park and Samantha Crook rinks but never won the New Brunswick junior championship. In 2017, Team Park competed in the 2017 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts where they finished in sixth place with a 1–5 record.[3] The following year, now with Team Crook, they finished in fifth at the 2018 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts, this time going 2–3. The team also finished runner-up at the 2018 junior provincial championship, falling to the Justine Comeau rink.[4]
In her last year of junior eligibility, Samantha Crook aged out and Julia Hunter took over skipping duties for the team. They finished with a 3–3 record at the provincial championship, losing out to Erica Cluff. Team Crook again competed in the 2019 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts where they missed the playoffs, going 2–3.[5] In February, the Mount Allison Mounties finished second at the 2019 Atlantic University Sport Curling Championships, qualifying the team for the 2019 U Sports/Curling Canada University Championships.[6] There, they finished sixth with a 2–5 record, earning wins against the UNB Reds and the Regina Cougars.[7]
After taking a few years off, Ward joined the Jaclyn Crandall rink at second with third Kendra Lister and lead Kayla Russell for the 2022–23 season. The team reached the quarterfinals of the Jim Sullivan Curling Classic where they lost to the Jessica Daigle rink. Entering the 2023 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts as the second seeds, the team finished 3–3 through the round robin, enough to earn them a spot in the tiebreaker.[8] There, they were defeated by Ward's former teammate Shaelyn Park.
Melissa Adams joined the team for the 2023–24 season as their new skip, shifting Crandall to third, Lister to lead and Russell to alternate. On tour, the team went undefeated to pick up victories at the New Scotland Brewing Co. Cashspiel and the Jim Sullivan Curling Classic, defeating the Heather Smith rink in both finals.[9] [10] At the 2024 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Team Adams won the A qualifier event before losing both the B and C events to Mélodie Forsythe and Sylvie Quillian respectively. In the playoffs, they beat Team Forsythe 8–4 in the semifinal before defeating Team Quillian 7–4 in the provincial final.[11] This earned the team the right to represent New Brunswick at the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Ward's first appearance at the national women's championship. There, they finished eighth in Pool B with a 2–6 record, defeating the Northwest Territories' Kerry Galusha and Ontario's Danielle Inglis.[12]
Ward is employed as a financial controller at JN Lafford Realty Inc. She previously attended Mount Allison University.[2]
| Season | Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Alternate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16[13] | Molli Ward | |||||
| 2016–17 | Shaelyn Park | Julia Goodin | Molli Ward | Lauren Whiteway | ||
| 2017–18 | Molli Ward | Shelby Wilson | ||||
| 2018–19 | Samantha Crook | Julia Hunter | Molli Ward | Kayla Russell | ||
| 2022–23 | Molli Ward | Kayla Russell | Melissa Adams | |||
| 2023–24 | Melissa Adams | Jaclyn Crandall | Molli Ward | Kendra Lister | Kayla Russell | |
| 2024–25 | Melissa Adams | Jaclyn Crandall | Molli Ward | Kendra Lister | Kayla Russell |