Jolene Campbell wins Saskatchewan women’s curling title

Jolene Campbell is headed back to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Skipping a Regina-based team along with third Robyn Silvernagle, second Rachel Big Eagle and lead Dayna Demmans, Campbell beat Jana Tisdale and her Regina squad 4-3 on Sunday in Melville in the final of the Bunge Prairie Pinnacle Saskatchewan women’s curling championship.

Campbell, who lost in last year’s provincial final to Nancy Martin, will be making her sixth career Scotties appearance after last playing third on skip Chelsea Carey’s Regina-based wild card team in 2022. In 2016, Campbell skipped a Saskatchewan team at the Scotties after serving as an alternate for Amber Holland’s rink from 2010-13, highlighted by a Canadian title and silver medal at the world championship in 2011.

Silvernagle, who joined Team Campbell this season, will be making her fourth career appearance having skipped Saskatchewan-based teams at the Scotties in 2019, 2020 and 2023. Her best result at the national event was a bronze medal finish in 2019.

Big Eagle, formerly Erickson, will be making her third Scotties appearance but first as an active player having served as an alternate with Campbell and Carey in 2022 and with Manitoba’s Mackenzie Zacharias in 2021. Meanwhile, Demmans will be making her first career Scotties appearance with the team that also features coach Ben Gamble.

As for how they got here, after finishing the round robin with a 6-2 record, losing to Tisdale and Ashley Thevenot in pool play, Campbell and company served up some revenge in the playoffs.

As the No. 2 seed, Team Campbell knocked off the No. 1 seed Team Thevenot 10-7 in the 1 vs. 2 playoff game on Saturday to book their spot in Sunday’s final.

After Team Tisdale — the eighth-ranked team heading into the event — knocked off Thevenot on Sunday morning to book their spot in Sunday’s final, the championship game was a back-and-forth match that went down to the final end.

After a blanked first end, Campbell scored a single in the second end before another blank in the third.

In the fourth end, Tisdale scored a deuce to go up 2-1 before Campbell responded with two points of her own in the fifth end to take a 3-2 lead.

After three more blank ends, Tisdale was limited to a single point in the ninth to tie the game but giving hammer back to Campbell in the final end.

And in the 10th end, with Campbell sitting one, Tisdale crashed on a guard with her final stone which meant Campbell didn’t have to throw her final rock.

Campbell and company will now represent Saskatchewan at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts from Jan. 23 to Feb. 1 in Mississauga, Ont.

In the men’s provincial final, defending champion Rylan Kleiter and his Saskatoon squad are facing off against 2023 champion Kelly Knapp and his Regina rink, with that game getting underway on Sunday at 7 p.m.

tshire@postmedia.com

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