Both of the Yukon's women's curling rinks are feeling pretty good about their chances heading into the territorial playdowns for this year's Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

The two teams will have home ice advantage when they take on each other as well as two Northwest Territorities squads in a double round robin format at the Whitehorse Curling Club.

The playdowns are scheduled for Jan. 29 through Feb. 1. The team with the best record after the double round robin will qualify for the Scotties.

If that wasn't enough, both Team Horte and Team Grant went the distance this past weekend for determining the Yukon's number one and number two positions for the playdowns.

After dropping the first match 9-8, Team Horte rebounded to win the next two games in the best of three series.

The squad got the 2-1 victory despite playing without team skip Rhonda Horte. Jaime Hewitt, who normally throws in the lead position, filled in for Horte and the team's fifth player Carrie Stahl tossed in the second spot.

"We played very well," said Hewitt. "We're good at reading the ice and calling the right shot and just communication."

Similar to the first game, the second match-up went the 10-end distance and ended in a thrilling fashion when Team Horte drew for three points for the 8-5 victory. The Horte rink scored the three points in the ninth end and then was able to hold off Grant's squad in the 10th.

Hewitt got off to a great start in the deciding game, taking advantage of the hammer to score two points in the first end.

Grant intentionally blanked the second end, before scoring one point in the third to cut Team Horte's lead in half.

Hewitt once again used her last shot to perfection in the fourth. She went on to score three points after just missing a draw for what would have given her four.

Team Horte scored three more points in the following two ends, taking a commanding 8-1 lead into the seventh end.

In the seventh, Grant was able to score one point, but that was as close as her team would get and they conceded before the beginning of the eighth.

Hewitt said she was glad that it went the three-game distance.

"This was our fourth game together as a team, so each game we got a little better and that's just getting to know your teammates and how they play and how they communicate."

Forming in November, Team Horte hasn't been together as long as Grant's rink. All of its members play in the Tuesday Night Skookum Super League and will play together in the league leading up to playdowns.

Team Grant plays on both Tuesday and Thursday. Members of the team also practice two times a week as a group as well as on their own.

"The weekend I thought was pretty good, I rather enjoyed it," said Doris Bouvier, Team Grant's lead. "Coming in second isn't bad."

Team third Corinne Delaire said it was beneficial playing the three games against Team Horte.

"It's totally beneficial to bring our skill level up and practice curling against other women's teams with the same level of skill," she said. "We will continue to work hard and we are looking forward to (the playdowns). Our goal is to go to the Scotties."