Alberta’s Sturmay stays undefeated, clinching playoff spot at Tournament of Hearts
Alberta’s Selena Sturmay improved to 6-0 and clinched a playoff spot at the Canadian women’s curling championship with a 10-9 extra-end win over Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville in Wednesday’s opening draw.
Sturmay came back from a 6-1 deficit after four ends, and a steal of three in the ninth end put the Albertans up 9-7.
McCarville (3-3) responded with two in the 10th to force the extra end, but Sturmay made the most of having the hammer in the 11th and came out with a win.
With two Pool A draws left, Sturmay can finish no worse than second in the group. Four-time defending champion Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., who was idle Wednesday morning, is second in the pool at 5-1.
WATCH | Jennifer Jones joins That Curling Show to reflect on sparkling career:
Jennifer Jones joins That Curling Show ahead of her final appearance at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, with the announcement that she will be retiring at the end of this season. The skip reflects on her illustrious career, the influence of her dad on her journey, and what she plans to do next.
In other scores, rookie Saskatchewan skip Skylar Ackerman took sole possession of third place in the pool at 4-3 with a 9-6 win over Newfoundland and Labrador’s Stacie Curtis (1-5).
Prince Edward Island’s Jane DiCarlo fell to 0-7 with a 10-6 loss to Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes (3-3) and British Columbia’s Corryn Brown downed Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges 8-3. Both teams are 3-3.
The top three teams in each pool after Thursday’s final draw advance to Friday’s six-team playoff round, from which Saturday’s four Page playoff teams will be determined.
Tiebreaker games have been eliminated from the format. Head-to-head results followed by cumulative draw-to-the-button scores that precede each game solve ties.
The winner of Sunday’s final represents Canada at the world championship March 16-24 in Sydney, N.S., and earns a return trip to the 2025 Scotties Tournament
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