ASSINIBOIA - There were a couple of teams for southeast Saskatchewan curling fans to cheer for at the CurlSask Last Chance qualifying bonspiel in Assiniboia from Friday to Sunday.
The Cindy Ricci rink, competing out of the Weyburn Curling Club, went 3-3 on the weekend and lost in one of the C finals. Other members of the team were lead Kristy Johnson, second Becca Anderson and third Chelsey Emberley. The team was coached by Bob Doerr.
The Ricci rink started strong, defeating Brooklyn Stevenson 8-6 and former national champion Amber Holland 5-4 on Friday. Ricci scored three in the eighth end to break open an 8-5 game versus Stevenson, and then Ricci withstood a late rally by Holland after Ricci built a 5-1 lead through seven ends.
Then she lost 7-5 in the A final to Jana Tisdale. Ricci was down 6-3 after seven ends, pulled to within one after nine but gave up the final point in the 10th.
Ricci recovered to double up Amélie Blais 12-6 in seven ends in the B event. After giving up two in the first, Ricci countered with five in the second. It was 8-6 midway through the game after Blais scored four in the fifth, but Ricci countered with one in the sixth and three in the seventh.
Ricci dropped a 10-4, six-end game against Stevenson in the B final. All of Ricci's points came in the third end. Then she lost 6-5 to Selzer in the C event. Ricci had a 5-4 advantage after eight ends, but surrendered one in the ninth and a steal of one in the 10th.
Last year the Ricci rink curled out of the Estevan Curling Club when the Viterra Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial women's curling championship was held in Estevan.
But there will still be a southeast Saskatchewan presence at the Scotties.
Jade Bloor, who resides in southeast Saskatchewan, is part of the Tisdale rink that won the A final. Bloor is the third on the team, which curls out of the Highland Curling Club in Regina.
While they won the A event, all three games were close. Tisdale opened with a 9-7 victory over Sherry Just after scoring two points in an extra end. Then they edged Selzer's rink 8-7 after running Selzer out of rocks in the 10th end, and they held on to beat Ricci 7-5 in the A final.
One team with southeast connections qualified for provincials before the Last Chance event. A team skipped by Sherrilee Orsted of Estevan punched their ticket by finishing fourth among Saskatchewan curlers in the Curling Canada tour standings. Competing out of the Moose Jaw Curling Centre, other team members are third Candace Newkirk, second Shalon Fleming and lead Jasmine Kerr.
The top four Saskatchewan teams in the Curling Canada tour standings qualify, as do the top four teams in the Saskatchewan Curling Tour Standings.
The Scotties will be held in Tisdale from Jan. 17-21, 2024.
