ESTEVAN - The teams that will play in the A final at the Viterra Scotties Tournament of Hearts women’s curling provincials in Estevan have been decided.
Sherry Anderson will face her former teammate Nancy Martin in the showdown to determine who will be the top seed once the playoffs begin on Saturday night. Anderson qualified with an 8-6, nine-end win over Ashley Howard during the Thursday night draw. Martin advanced with a 9-2, six-end victory over Robyn Silvernagle.
It was the second game of the day for both curlers. In the Thursday morning draw, Anderson raced out to an early 6-0 lead and beat Amber Holland 10-3 in six ends. Martin, meanwhile, pulled off a remarkable comeback, rallying from a 7-0 deficit after three ends to win 11-9 over Lorraine Schneider. Martin scored three in the ninth to tie and stole two in the 10th.
The A final will begin at 3 p.m. Friday at Affinity Place.
Other games during the Thursday morning draw saw Silvernagle knock off Skylar Ackerman 9-4 in nine ends, and Howard edge defending provincial champion Penny Barker 8-7.
Two games were played in the afternoon draw: Schneider defeated Madison Kleiter 8-3 in nine ends, and Holland upended Jessica Mitchell 8-3 in eight ends.
The other games in the evening draw saw Brooklyn Stevenson defeat Barker 7-5, and Ackerman edge Cindy Ricci 9-7 in an extra end – the first extra-end game of this year’s Scotties.
Ackerman scored three in the second, but Ricci scored two in the third and stole one in the fourth. Ackerman and Ricci swapped two-point ends in the fifth and sixth ends. Ackerman added single points in the seventh and eighth, but Ricci replied with one each in the ninth and 10th ends.
Ackerman added two in the 11th.
Three more draws are scheduled for Friday. There will be two games at 10 a.m.: Holland faces Silvernagle and Schneider plays Howard. Both games are in the B event.
In the 3:30 p.m. draw, in addition to the A final, Ackerman will play Stevenson in the B event and Mitchell will face Kleiter in the C event.
Four games will start at 7:30 p.m. Ricci and Barker will both play games in the C event.
Teams that lose in the C event are eliminated.
There will more games Saturday at 10 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The latter draw will mark the start of the playoffs.
The Scotties will conclude Sunday with the semifinal at 10 a.m. and the final at 3 p.m.
