LITTLE CURRENT, Ont. – Krista McCarville started her quest for an 11th Scotties Tournament of Hearts berth with a convincing win.
The veteran skip doubled up Thunder Bay’s Robyn Despins 10-5 on Thursday night, as the Northern Ontario provincial women’s curling championship got under way in Little Current, Ont.
McCarville, the two-time defending champion, scored multiple points in four ends, capping the victory with three in the ninth end, leading the two teams to shake hands.
McCarville, lead Kendra Lilly, second Ashely Sippala and third Andrea Kelly, along with spare Sarah Potts, are playing their first provincial playdown as a team, after Kelly joined the team out of Fredericton, N.B. last summer.
The Thunder Bay rink wasn’t the only local team to earn a victory on Thursday night.
Zach Warkentin, needing to win to stay alive, eliminated Sault Ste. Marie’s Matthew Hunt with a 7-1 win, a match that ended after seven ends.
Warkentin will take on Thunder Bay’s Chris Silver in a C-side match on Friday, the winner moving on and the loser going home.
In other women’s action, North Bay’s Laura Johnston downed Sudbury’s Jackie McCormick 12-6 and Sudbury’s Krysta Burns edged Timmins’ Lauren Mann 11-8 but needed an extra end.
Next up for McCarville is a Friday afternoon contest against Burns in a rematch of last year’s Northern Ontario final, while Despins will attempt to find the win column against McCormick.
