Team Saskatchewan off to 2-0 start at Scotties Tournament of Hearts

Team Saskatchewan third Nancy Martin watches her shot in draw twenty, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts 2021, the Canadian Women's Curling Championship.

Nancy Martin and Team Saskatchewan are off to a strong start at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

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At the national women’s curling championship in Thunder Bay, Ont., Martin and her Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club rink beat Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville 10-6 in the opening draw on Friday night before improving to 2-0 with an 8-6 win over Jane DiCarlo and Team Prince Albert Island on Saturday night.

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In her first Scotties as a skip and second overall, Martin and Team Saskatchewan — also featuring third Chaelynn Stewart, second Kadriana Lott, lead Deanna Doig, alternate Colleen Ackerman and coach Sherry Anderson — will now face Corryn Brown and Team B.C. on Sunday afternoon before a pair of games on Monday against New Brunswick’s Melissa Adams and defending champion Rachel Homan and Team Canada.

As for Friday’s opening game against the hometown Northern Ontario rink, Martin quieted the crowd early by scoring three points with the hammer in the second end to take an early lead.

McCarville scored a single in the third before the teams traded deuces in the fourth and fifth ends as Martin took a 5-3 lead into the break.

Martin scored one in the sixth before McCarville scored another deuce in the seventh to tighten the gap.

After the teams traded single points in the next two ends, Martin had a 7-6 lead with hammer heading into the final end. And the Saskatchewan skip left no doubt as she scored three points to earn the 10-6 win.

On Saturday, Martin and company kept up the strong play early on as Team Saskatchewan built up a 6-3 lead with deuces in the first, third and fifth ends.

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From there, the teams traded single points as Saskatchewan walked away with the 8-6 win as the team curled a combined 82 per cent.

At 2-0, Saskatchewan sits atop Pool A with Canada and Alberta’s Kayla Skrlik. The top three teams in each pool make the playoff round following an eight-game round robin which concludes Thursday night.