Alberta's Selena Sturmay on to Scotties Tournament of Hearts semifinal

Alberta's Selena Sturmay is on to the semifinal of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Sturmay beat Nova Scotia's Christina Black 8-4 in the Page 3/4 playoff on Saturday afternoon. Canada's Kerri Einarson and Manitoba's Kaitlyn Lawes played each other in the Page 1/2 playoff later that day, with the loser meeting Sturmay in Sunday's semifinal.

"Honestly, it hasn't really sunk in yet that we're in the semifinal," said Sturmay minutes after her win over Black. "But we're ready to keep fighting and keep playing well and see where that goes."

The winner of the Einarson-Lawes game will advance directly to the tournament's final on Sunday evening. It's Sturmay's first-ever semifinal at the national championships in three appearances at the event.

"Nobody comes to this event to lose, but I think those previous Scotties really helped us build experience and knowledge," said Sturmay. "Just being comfortable in the big game.

"We're looking forward to building on that."

Black has had an impressive 13 months, placing third at last year's Tournament Hearts after losing to Einarson 9-8 in the semifinal. She then finishing second at this year's Olympic curling trials to Canada's Rachel Homan.

"I wanted to win this thing. Definitely wanted to get on the podium and get a little further than last year, but I'm still really proud," said Black. "We played really well all week and had a great season. It's been a long week and a great two years together of battling and just accomplishing so much.

"I'm really proud of us, but I'm a little heartbroken."

Tied 2-2 after five ends and with Black holding hammer, her draw shot kissed a guard but curled ever so slightly toward the button. Sturmay's remaining rock and Black's final throw were so close