THUNDER BAY – Krista McCarville rebounded in a big way on Wednesday morning.
After a shocking loss the day before to Nunavut, the Thunder Bay skip found her form again against Alberta, inching closer to a spot in the championship round at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, edging Laura Walker’s foursome 4-3 in the morning draw.
The win improved the Northern Ontario team’s record to 4-2 and means a win over Saskatchewan (4-2) on Wednesday night would send them into championship round play.
McCarville, lead Jen Gates, second Ashley Sippala and third Kendra Lilly can also advance with a loss if Alberta falls to Kerri Einarson and Manitoba, who have one loss in six games in Moose Jaw, Sask. this week.
“It’s up to us. It’s not like we’re banking on other teams to win or lose for us, McCarville told curling.ca. “It’s in our hands and that’s all we can ask for.”
McCarville said the key was to forget about Tuesday’s 6-4 loss to Nunavut and worry about what lies ahead, specifically Alberta and Saskatchewan.
“We had to play better. We had to focus on the ice, bear down and make those key shots,” McCarville told curling.ca.
“I thought we did that. It feels good going into our night game, adjusting to the ice a little bit better than we did yesterday.”
Team Northern Ontario opened with a steal in the first, but Walker got it back with a single in the second.
McCarville picked up a second point in the fourth, then stole two in the sixth to go up 4-1.
Walker was held to a single in the seventh, and after blanking the eighth and ninth ends, stole another point in the 10th, but fell one short of sending the match to an extra end.
In other Draw 12 play, Chelsea Carey’s Team Canada avoided defeat at the hands of Nunavut’s Lori Eddy, stealing points in the ninth and 10th ends to earn a 6-5 triumph. Prince Edward Island continued it’s great play, knocking off winless Yukon 11-5 to improve to 4-2 and British Columbia held off a late charge by Newfoundland and Labrador (1-5) to up their record to 4-2 with an 8-6 win.
McCarville and Saskatchewan’s Robyn Silvernagle will tangle starting at 7:30 p.m., the winner guaranteed a spot in championship round play.
The top four teams in each pool advance.
McCarville can finish no worse than a tie for fourth.
