Alberta's Selena Sturmay advanced to the semifinal of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts with an 8-4 victory over Nova Scotia's Christina Black in the Page 3/4 playoff on Saturday in Mississauga, Ontario. Sturmay's team made four steals to secure the win and will face the loser of the Page 1/2 matchup between Kerri Einarson and Kaitlyn Lawes. This marks Sturmay's first semifinal appearance at the national championships.
In a closely contested Page 3/4 playoff game at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Alberta skip Selena Sturmay's rink defeated Nova Scotia's Christina Black 8-4 on Saturday afternoon in Mississauga, Ontario. The game was tied 2-2 after five ends, but Alberta capitalized with a steal in the sixth end after Black's draw shot curled slightly off, requiring a measure to confirm the point. Sturmay's team added three points in the eighth end when Black came up short on her final throw, taking a 6-4 lead, before sealing the victory with steals in the ninth and tenth ends.
Sturmay praised her third, Danielle Schmiemann, who curled at 85 percent and played a key role in the four steals. "She's one of the best players, in my opinion," Sturmay said. "She saves our team a lot and I can always count on her to make that big shot. Just honestly super proud of all the girls."
Schmiemann credited the team's composure, noting second Dezaray Hawes' pre-game message about their hard work. "We've worked so hard this year to put ourselves in this position," Schmiemann said. "That kind of calm, collected energy has kind of led to putting us in this position."
For Sturmay, 27, this is her first semifinal in three Scotties appearances, building on a strong 2025-26 season that included winning the Canadian Olympic Pre-Trials and the Alberta championship. "Those previous Scotties really helped us build experience, knowledge and just being comfortable in the big games," she said.
Black, who finished third at last year's Scotties and second at the Olympic trials, struggled with draw weight. "Great two years together, of battling and accomplishing so much, so I’m really proud of us, but I’m a little heartbroken," Black said. "It's too bad. We wanted to play on Sunday."
Sturmay's team earned their playoff spot by finishing third in their pool and beating Manitoba's Beth Peterson in a qualifier on Friday. With Saturday night off, they planned a nice dinner to recharge before Sunday's semifinal against the loser of the all-Manitoba Page 1/2 game between four-time champion Einarson and Lawes, who has one national title as Jennifer Jones' third. The Scotties winner will represent Canada at the world women's curling championship in Calgary in March.
