Robyn Silvernagle’s North Battleford rink is now 3-1 to start the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Moose Jaw after beating Alberta’s Laura Walker 7-5 Monday night.

Things started well for Team Saskatchewan, as they forced Walker to draw for one in the first end. That was followed up with a deuce in the second end for Saskatchewan, giving the host province a 2-1 lead.

After a blank in the third, Walker was able to come back and score two in the fourth end, giving Alberta a 3-2 lead.

Then Silvernagle really took over, nailing a perfect draw in the fifth to score three and take a 5-3 lead.

The teams traded one-point ends in the sixth and seventh before Silvernagle stole a point in the eighth, which resulted in a 7-4 lead for Saskatchewan.

Walker scored a single point in the ninth, but ran out of rocks in the tenth, giving Silvernagle and Saskatchewan a 7-5 win over their prairie rivals.

Silvernagle said when it mattered most, her team made the shots they needed to.

“Sometiumes when you know a team is playing really well, you know you have to bring your A-game and curl really well to keep up, so it almost makes you bring your performance up a little bit.”

Third Stefanie Lawton said that was the team’s best performance of this year’s Scotties.

“We’ve had three games on the ice prior to this, and it’s okay,” Lawton said. “I was feeling maybe a little bit off on some of my shots, and so I think everybody was just coming out here, and we focused on the things that we needed to focus on, and took that forward, and I think that made the difference.”

Silvernagle has a tough road ahead for Tuesday, as her rink faces Quebec in the afternoon draw and the currently undefeated Team Manitoba in the evening. Kerri Einarson is the lone unbeaten in the field at 4-0.

In Pool B, Ontario’s Rachel Homan, Nova Scotia’s Mary-Anne Arsenault and the Wildcard team skipped by Jennifer Jones are tied for the lead at 3-1.