Edmonton’s Selena Sturmay wins Alberta women’s curling title

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Who says crime doesn’t pay?

Not Selena Sturmay and her Edmonton curling squad.

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Definitely not after stealing each the penultimate and decisive ends of Sunday’s Alberta Scotties championship draw to pilfer the provincial title from the defending champions in St. Paul.

“It means every thing,” mentioned the Workforce Sturmay skip, of scoring a first-ever provincial victory over Calgary’s Workforce Skrlik in beautiful 6-5 trend to cap the eight-team occasion. “We’ve primarily based our complete season round these provincials, and profitable provincials was our number-one objective. So to have that come to actual life, which means every thing — it hasn’t fairly sunk in but.

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“Hopefully, it does quickly.”

The Saville Neighborhood Sports activities Centre facet has just a little time — three weeks, that’s — to savour the celebration earlier than the 2024 Scotties Event of Hearts.

Then, skip Sturmay, third Danielle Schmiemann, second Dezaray Hawes, lead Paige Papley and coach Ted Appelman — by advantage of Sunday’s triumph — get busy representing Alberta and vying for Canadian glory on the Calgary-hosted nationwide championships, Feb. 16-25.

“Yeah … it positively was a grind on the market,” Sturmay mentioned. “Ice circumstances have been just a little bit tough.”

Kayla Skrlik, the 2023 Alberta queen, discovered that out the arduous manner, as she was heavy on her draw to the four-foot going through two Sturmay stones with the final rock within the tenth finish of the finale.

Sturmay additionally stole one within the ninth finish, as a part of a ending flurry to rebound from a 5-3 deficit via eight ends of the championship draw.

“Yeah, I feel with how that tenth finish formed up, all we actually needed was simply get her to have a look at two along with her final rock, which which we did,” Sturmay mentioned. “I feel each of my pictures and the pictures earlier than have been very well managed. We obtained probably the most out of each shot that we may have.”

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Workforce Sturmay went in to the weekend sporting loads of big-game expertise, together with Schmiemann — a former Kelsey Rocque teammate and perennial Alberta Scotties menace — and Hawes — a two-time B.C. rep on the nationwide Scotties with Kamloops’ Corryn Brown in each 2020 and ’21.

Sturmay, herself, had additionally confronted Skrlik in loads of big-stage moments.

“Me and Kayla have been battling it out in junior and provincial finals for years, so we simply know that it’s at all times going to be an awesome sport in opposition to them,” mentioned Sturmay, 25. “I’m certain there’s many extra provincial finals in opposition to Kayla to return, as effectively.”

This one, nevertheless, is Sturmay’s to get pleasure from.

Sturmay & Co. wrapped up the round-robin portion of the occasion Saturday with a first-place 6-1 document, incomes a bye via to the finale.

The crew then awaited a call within the semifinal between fellow Saville squad Serena Grey-Withers and Skrlik — the respective second- and third-place finishers with 5-2 and 4-3 marks via the round-robin — which went to Skrlik in 9-8 trend in an additional finish. That sport, too, noticed Skrlik give up a lead — 8-5 — within the late ends by means of permitting steals.

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Huge swings dominated that Sunday morning semifinal.

After Skrlik counted two within the first finish, Grey-Withers got here again with three within the second.

Then it was one other deuce for the defending champs within the third finish earlier than the just lately topped Canada West queens from Saville eked out one within the fourth to attract even.

After a fifth-end clean and an trade of 1 within the sixth and seventh ends, the eighth finish noticed Grey-Withers miss with hammer for a steal of three by Skrlik.

However the Edmonton rink countered with steals of two and one to power the additional finish, by which Skrlik made her free draw to an open home.

Within the championship sport, scoring proved tougher to return by.

A clean first was adopted by an trade of one-point ends after which one other trade of one-point ends.

Tied 2-2 heading into the second half of the competition, the groups once more every put up singles within the sixth and seventh ends.

It wasn’t till the eighth when a deuce lastly went up on the board courtesy of Skrlik, however that didn’t deter Sturmay and her crew from bearing all the way down to rally for steals of 1 within the ninth and two within the deciding tenth finish.

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“We simply knew if we put a few good ends collectively and put some stress on the opposite crew, we’d have an opportunity in the long run,” Sturmay mentioned. “And that’s what ended up taking place.”

Heading into Sunday’s playoff spherical, Workforce Sturmay had the luxurious of figuring out it had already secured not less than a spot within the nationwide Scotties as one of many wildcard sides as a consequence of its success all through the season and the round-robin at Clancy Richard Enviornment.

“It positively took stress off,” added Sturmay. “Nevertheless, we nonetheless positively needed to win that one and symbolize our personal province on the Scotties.

“That positively meant quite a bit to us.”

SCOTTIES SET

Many of the subject is now set for the WinSport-hosted Scotties subsequent month after weekend provincial motion held throughout the nation.

After all, Workforce Canada is skipped by Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson and are the reigning four-time nationwide champions.

Vying to dethrone Einarson and her Gimli Curling Membership squad are the next provincial champions: Sturmay (Alberta); Vancouver’s Clancy Grandy (B.C.); Winnipeg’s Kaitlyn Lawes (Manitoba); Fredericton’s Melissa Adams (New Brunswick); St. John’s Stacie Curtis (Newfoundland and Labrador); Thunder Bay’s Krista McCarville (Northern Ontario); Halifax’s Heather Smith (Nova Scotia); Ottawa’s Danielle Inglis (Ontario); Crapaud’s Jane DiCarlo (Prince Edward Island); Laval’s Laurie St-Georges (Quebec); Saskatoon’s Skylar Ackerman (Saskatchewan); Yellowknife’s Kerry Galusha (Northwest Territories); and Whitehorse’s Bayly Scoffin (Yukon).

Two different rinks — Ottawa’s Rachel Homan (Ontario) and St. Very important/Winnipeg/Altona’s Jennifer Jones (Manitoba) — certified forward of respective provincials primarily based on their standings atop the 2022-23 Canadian Workforce Rating Standings.

And two wild card groups — formally unnamed but however wanting like Manitoba’s Kate Cameron and B.C.’s Brown — spherical out the 18-team Scotties subject.

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

http://www.x.com/ToddSaelhofPM

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