With the second half of their eight game round robin schedule now underway as we speak, the Krista Scharf Thunder Bay rink representing Northern Ontario at the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Mississauga is facing a key matchup.

The team that also includes Ashley Sippala at vice, long-time Sudburian Kendra Lilly at second and Sarah Potts at lead opened play with a pair of big wins.

The squad which invited Scharf's daughter Bella McCarville to serve as alternate for the event knocked off Alberta representative Kayla Skrlik 7-4 on Saturday.

Trailing 4-3 after eight ends, Team Scharf scored two with the hammer in nine and then closed it out in style with a steal of two in the tenth.

That momentum carried over to the next day as the crew that are no strangers to this championship used a quartet of multi-point ends to thump Newfoundland & Labrador (Mackenzie Mitchell) 12-5 on Sunday.

Though Team Scharf did not score a single point in any end, the combination of a deuce (in 3rd), two three-point ends (2nd & 9th) and a four-pointer (7th) was more than enough to turn the trick against the Maritime women.

Unfortunately, the very opposite was true in game three as Selena Sturmay (also Alberta) put four on the board in ends two and five, putting a bow on their victory in the eighth with a five-score, the teams shaking hands at that point with the scoreboard reading 15-5.

The only match on Monday for Scharf and company was a close affair at the midway point, with Northern Ontario and Manitoba (Beth Peterson) tied at two heading to the sixth end.

Unfortunately, seven points in the next three ends for the Bison-emblazoned foursome spelled a 9-2 setback for Scharf, their record dropping to 2-2.

That said, while Team Peterson is showing the way in Pool B at 4-0 and Selena Sturmay and Christina Black are one game back at 3-1, Team Scharf does close out their week with encounters opposite Nunavut (Lisa Weagle - 1-4), Prince Edward Island (Amanda Power - 1-2) and New Brunswick (Melodie Forsythe - 0-3).

All of that, however, comes after that huge head to head showdown with Christina Black Tuesday morning in Mississauga, with Scharf currently trailing 6-3 heading to the eighth end.