Rachel Homan’s curling team battled both the ice and Kayla Skrlik’s foursome and triumphed on both counts to stay unbeaten at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts on Sunday.

Homan downed Alberta’s Skrlik 9-7 to be the only undefeated team atop Pool A at 3-0. The victory was a grind for the defending champions, however.

“We’re still learning the ice and still getting some misses here and there, so just learning from them and trying to get better every game,” Homan said.

“It’s fairly straight just kind of everywhere, and then some spots more than others. We just kind of got to stay on top of every shot, because it can be a bit challenging for sure.

“Our sweepers, I made them work a lot that game, so kudos to them. I think that win’s for them.”

Skrlik, Saskatchewan’s Nancy Martin, B.C.’s Corryn Brown and Alberta’s Selena Sturmay were bunched at 2-1 behind Homan’s Ottawa Curling Club side.

Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges (2-0), Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson and Yukon’s Bayly Scoffin (1-0) sought to stay unbeaten in the evening’s Pool B draw at Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Sturmay recovered from an early 5-1 deficit against hometown team Krista McCarville of Northern Ontario to emerge a 10-6 winner.

“We did need the win,” Sturmay said. “We have a lot of a lot of grit and determination on our team, which I think goes a long way.”

McCarville, the 2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts finalist in Thunder Bay, got little run support from her lineup in the game’s back half and faced multiple Alberta stones with her final throws.

She was short of the rings with a draw on the ninth end to give up a devastating steal of four and fall to 0-3.

“We have to win out now,” McCarville said. “We know we have to, and we’re going to do everything we possibly can to win the next one.”

Brown pulled Saskatchewan’s Nancy Martin back into the pack with a 7-6 win in an extra end after falling 9-8 to Skrlik the previous day.

“We wanted a big bounce-back game,” said Brown. “We had a couple opportunities that we kind of squandered in that game, but we’re really happy that we were able to capitalize.”

New Brunswick’s Melissa Adams doubled Nunvaut’s Julia Weagle to get to 1-1 and drop Nunavut to 0-2 alongside Prince Edward Island’s Jane DiCarlo.

In the morning Pool B draw, Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes recovered from giving up seven stolen ends in an opening loss to Quebec with a 12-3 win over provincial rival Kate Cameron.

St-Georges got to 2-0 with a 12-3 victory over Northwest Territories’ Kerry Galusha.

Ontario’s Danielle Inglis was an 8-7 winner over Brooke Godsland of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Nova Scotia’s Christina Black joined Inglis, Lawes and Cameron at 1-1 after a 9-8 loss to Scoffin.

The 18-team field is divided into two pools with the top three in each advancing to the championship round. The four Page playoff teams will emerge from that group of six.

The victor Feb. 23 will represent Canada at the world championship March 15-23 in Uijeongbu, South Korea.

Sturmay’s Edmonton team was ready to battle for a Hearts berth at the provincial championship when they were informed in early January they had a direct ticket to Thunder Bay.

The dissolution of Chelsea Carey’s team bumped Sturmay to a berth based on last season’s rankings. Skrlik won Alberta’s women’s crown.

“Something a little bit bittersweet,” Sturmay said. “You can’t turn that opportunity down, but it was a little bit sad not playing in that Alberta provincials.

“Just having those meaningful games and carrying that confidence into an event like this does go a long way.”