KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Krista McCarville opened her 10th Scotties Tournament of Hearts ranked No. 15, due in large party to a reduced schedule.
Whether she took the points-based ranking to heart or not, McCarville’s Team Northern Ontario got off to the start they were looking for on Saturday in Kamloops, B.C., downing six-time champion and third-seeded Jennifer Jones, the Team Manitoba skip, 11-8 to open the 16-team competition with a win.
McCarville, who skipped her team to the championship match on home ice a year ago in Thunder Bay, scored three in the seventh after Jones missed double takeout opportunity, stole one in the eighth and capped it with a pair in the 10th to secure the victory.
“It was a great win, that’s for sure,” McCarville said. “It was a very intense game, very back-and forth, with a lot of rocks in play. But we know that’s the way (Jones) likes to play and it’s tough to get away from that when it’s a five-rock rule.
“Going into it we just said one goal is we need to get our draw weight and I thought we did really well with that today.”
Every win matters at an event like the Scotties, said McCarville, who unlike Jones, kept her team together in the offseason, bringing back lead Sarah Potts, second Ashley Sippala and third Kendra Lilly, who continues to curl out of Sudbury.
Jones parted ways with longtime teammates Kaitlyn Lawes, who is skipping a wild-card team at this year’s Scotties, Jocelyn Peterman and Dawn McEwan and Lisa Weagle, instead deciding to curl with MacKenzie Zacharias, Karlee Burgess, Emily Zacharias and Lauren Lenentine during the 2023-23 curling season.
“They’re a really good team. Obviously, they’re on the circuit all the time, they’re winning a lot. So, we know we want to try to win every single game, but to start off with a win always makes you feel good,” McCarville said.
The Thunder Bay rink was one of four in Pool B to open with a win on Saturday.
Rachel Homan, who has McCarville’s former Northern Ontario rival Tracy Fleury playing third, scored three in the first two take control of her match against Newfoundland and Labrador’s Stacie Curtis and cruised to a 12-3 win at the Sandman Centre.
Casey Scheidegger, skipping Wild Card No. 2, took out Wild Card. No. 3 with a 5-3 win, while the Northwest Territories’ Kerry Galusha got off on the right foot, edging New Brunswick’s Andrea Kelly, previously known as Andrea Crawford, 6-4. Kelly was a semifinalist in Thunder Bay a year ago.
McCarville and Scheidegger tangle on Sunday afternoon, followed by McCarville and Homan in the evening draw.
