THUNDER BAY, Ont. 鈥� Christina Black's curling team reached a new level this season after pushing Kerri Einarson's veteran team to the brink in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts semifinal Sunday afternoon.
Manitoba's Einarson, who skipped teams to Canadian titles four straight years from 2020 to 2023, eked out a 9-8 win to advance to the final Sunday night against defending champion Rachel Homan.
Einarson's last stone in the 10th end spun wide on a hit and roll to the button, but it pushed Black's counter just far enough for another Manitoba stone at the top edge of the four-foot rings to outcount Nova Scotia's for the win.
While a measurement was called for, Manitoba's stone was visibly shot rock.
"We didn't quit the whole game," Black said. "We had a slow start, and we grinded it out.
"When she let it go ... I thought, 'OK we've got a chance. This has to curl,' and if it had a curled a little more, we win, because she would have still rolled out, and ours would have rolled in a little farther, but that's the way it is.
"You can play a good game and lose."
Einarson's steal of one in the second end, when Black missed a difficult double raise to score three, proved to be pivotal in the game.
Black reached the Hearts semifinal for the first time as a skip. Sunday's semifinal was also new territory for vice Jill Brothers, second Marlee Powers and lead Karlee Everest.
Black employed a five-player rotation at the Fort William Gardens and in other events this season, with Powers and Jennifer Baxter alternating games.
The Halifax Curling Club foursome was without Baxter on Sunday. The team wrote in a social media post that Baxter's father Blair died Saturday.
Baxter had left Saturday's playoff game against Alberta's Kayla Skrlik after the second end.
"Just tried to stay mindful and present in myself and just know I get to go curling and how fun is that?" said a tearful Black.
"I'm so proud of us for pulling through. Our hearts are just with Jenn and her family."
Black's team ranked fourth among women's teams in the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) heading into Thunder Bay.
"They're a great team," said Einarson. "We've seen them at the Slams this year a couple times. It looks like they've put in the work and are really coming along."
By Black's calculations 鈥� she keeps a spreadsheet 鈥� finishing third at the Hearts should provide enough points for an express ticket to the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Mississauga, Ont., as one of three pre-qualified teams, and a spot in November's Olympic trials in her hometown of Halifax.
Curling Canada won't declare the teams pre-qualified for next year's Hearts, Montana's Brier or trials and pre-trials until after April's AMJ Players' Championship in Toronto.
"We put this team together with some goals and those were getting to the Olympic trials, being a home team at the trials," Black said. "Every single event we played in this year, we've met or exceeded our goals for the event, which is unreal.
"You know, we don't play 12 events. You get to count eight for points. We pretty much only play eight, so we knew every event we play in we have to do as good as we possibly can and get our maximum amount of points. We've done that, so it's amazing. We achieved all of our goals this year."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2025.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
