A day after eliminating a heavyweight from competition, Kate Cameron continued her climb into Canadian ladies’s elite curling by reaching the nationwide championship’s semifinal.
Cameron’s staff out of Winnipeg’s Granite Curling Club downed Alberta’s Selena Sturmay 6-4 in a playoff recreation Saturday to get to Sunday’s semifinal in Calgary.
After halting Kerri Einarson’s run of consecutive championships at 4, Cameron joined six-time champion Jennifer Jones and three-time winner Rachel Homan among the many three groups remaining on the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Ontario’s Homan and Manitoba’s Jones have been to satisfy in Saturday’s later Page playoff recreation between the highest two seeds.
The winner booked an specific ticket to Sunday night’s closing, whereas the loser faces Cameron in Sunday afternoon’s semifinal at WinSport Event Centre.
Jones, Homan and Einarson have lengthy been the large three in Canadian ladies’s curling. Cameron wormed her manner into that dialog at this yr’s Hearts.
“I hope, but we put this team together knowing this was a building year, so I’m happy we’re moving forward right now,” the skip mentioned. “We’re looking big picture. We’re looking to peak next year and then the year after into the (Olympic) trials.”
Team Manitoba-Cameron skip Kate Cameron encourages her teammates as they play Team Alberta in Page playoffs on the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
A nationwide title was tantalizingly shut simply two wins away, nevertheless.
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“That would be wicked,” Cameron mentioned. “We can do that if we keep playing well.”
Host Alberta topped its pool at 7-1, however misplaced back-to-back playoff video games.
Sturmay, third Danielle Schmiemann and lead Paige Paipley made their Tournament of Hearts debut in Calgary. Second Dezaray Hawes had beforehand performed in two Hearts.
Sturmay’s teammates held their very own Saturday with accuracy percentages within the 90-per-cent vary, however Sturmay struggled to carry her shooter within the rings when she had probabilities to hit for 2.
“Honestly, it sucks that I didn’t have a good game,” mentioned the 25-year-old skip. “I feel it was probably the worst game all week, but that’s just curling. You’re good some times and not good other times. It’s just unfortunate it came out in this game.”
Sturmay discovered solace in her younger Edmonton staff reaching the ultimate 4.
“All of us players have been knocking on a door for a little while now, so to do this while in this event, we’ve definitely put our name out there and people are going to recognize Team Sturmay from now on,” she mentioned.
Cameron introduced the expertise of six Hearts appearances enjoying third, however the 32-year-old from New Bothwell, Man., skipped a staff this season for the primary time in a decade.
“She’s a fierce, but calm leader of our team,” mentioned third Meghan Walter.
Regular second Taylor McDonald in a complicated state of being pregnant was swapped out earlier than the match for Kelsey Roque, a profession skip and two-time world junior champion.
Lead Mackenzie Elias rounds out the foursome that gained entry to the nationwide championship because the highest-ranked, non-qualified ladies’s staff in Canada this season at No. 7.
They completed third in Manitoba’s provincial championship. Cameron snagged the sixth and closing Hearts playoff berth by profitable a pair of tight video games on the ultimate day of pool play to complete 5-3.
Her staff was down to 3 gamers within the first recreation in opposition to Smith due to Walter’s sickness.
“All season we’ve had bumps in the road. I played the first half of the season with barely any vision,” Cameron mentioned. “Taylor has been playing pregnant, which has been a challenge for her throughout.”
Cameron mentioned eye laser surgical procedure in August “went very wrong in my left eye, so I didn’t have vision in my left eye until about mid to end of October. I played four or five events without vision in my left eye.”
Cameron reached the 2017 Hearts closing in St. Catharines, Ont., enjoying vice for Michell Englot, who misplaced to Homan.
“I was riding a buzz and I don’t remember anything,” Cameron recalled. “I think it was a straight blackout.”
The winner of Sunday’s closing represents Canada on the world championship March 16-24 in Sydney, N.S., and returns to the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ont., as defending champion.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
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