Jr. women’s provincials begin at Curling Club

The opening day of the 2018 Alberta Junior Women’s Provincial Championship hit the pebbled ice Wednesday at the Lethbridge Curling Club.

After the first two draws Wednesday, Kathryn Lepine of Calgary and Kayla Skrlik lead the way with 2-0 records. Ryleigh Bakker of Calgary, Taitan Hagglund of St. Albert, Abby Marks and Selena Sturmay, both of Edmonton are next at 11 while Elysa Crough of Calgary and Lauren Marks of Airdrie are 0-2.

In the opening draw, Skrlik edged Hagglund 98 with a pair of two-enders and three in the seventh for a 7-3 lead. However, Hagglund rebounded with a steal of three in the ninth to pull within one.

Lepine downed Lauren Marks 9-3, taking a 6-1 lead after six ends.

In a back-and-forth affair in the opening draw, Bakker got by Crough 7-6 thanks to a steal of one in the 10th end.

Abby Marks downed Sturmay 6-4 in the other opening-draw game thanks to a three-ender in the eighth.

In the evening draw, Lepine improved to 2-0 with a 12-4 thrashing of Baker, putting the game away with five in the ninth end.

Skrlik rolled to an 11-5 win over Crough in eight ends, scoring four in the third end and stealing three more in the sixth.

Hagglund edged Abby Marks 5-4 with two in the ninth end to pull within 4-3, then stealing two more in the 10th for the victory.

Sturmay topped Lauren Marks 10-7 with threeenders in the third and fifth, then consecutive steals of one in the eight through 10th ends.

Two more draws are scheduled for today at 11 a.m., including Lepine playing Skrlik in a battle of unbeatens, and 6 p.m.