It will be a familiar face skipping for the north at this year's Scotties Tournament of Hearts Women's Championships.

Northwest Territories curler Kerry Galusha secured what will be a fifth straight appearance to the national competition after her squad defeated the Yukon's Team Hewitt in a winner-take-all playdown match. This year's N.W.T./Yukon playdowns were held over four days at the Whitehorse Curling Club.

Both Galusha and Hewitt, who throws in the lead position, went into the final game with a record of 4-1, but a couple of big N.W.T. ends helped carry the foursome to a 9-5 victory.

"I was very nervous, I think that all the girls were nervous," admitted Galusha. "It was a final, so it was all or nothing, but nerves seem to help us play a bit better. There is nothing wrong with that as long as you know how to handle them."

Team Hewitt gave the hometown crowd plenty to cheer about in the opening end, taking an early 1-0 lead on a draw to the button by Helen Strong.

However, just one end later Galusha took some wind out of their sails by using the hammer to score three points. With two stones already near the button, Galusha drew in a third for a guaranteed two points. A measurement moments later gave the team its third point.

Despite the N.W.T. adding to its lead one end later to make it 4-1, Hewitt had a chance to get back in the game in the fourth. The Yukoners found themselves in a position to steal two points by hitting and sticking with the final shot.

With the pressure of needing to make the shot on her shoulders, Strong once again delivered, hitting and removing Galusha's closest stone to the button to score two.

The N.W.T.'s three point lead would be restored in the fifth after another close measurement went in their favour.

Galusha took over in the second half of the game, scoring two points in the sixth end and then limiting Hewitt to just one point in each the seventh and ninth, which concluded the contest.

The 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts will be held in Victoria from Feb. 21 to March 1. The four curlers on Team Galusha will play for N.W.T./Yukon. Last year the group went 1-10, but Galusha hopes to improve that record this time around.

Dawn Moses, who throws third on Team Galusha, said it exciting to play at the nationals.

"Victoria is going to be fantastic," she said. "Any chance that we get to nationals is always exciting, a chance to test ourselves against the rest of the country. It's not like any other sporting event I don't think."

Strong said despite not qualifying for the Scotties, the team still had a lot of fun this weekend.

"We played really well as a team and they are a great bunch of girls to curl with," she said. "Kerry is just an amazing skip and they made their shots. They were just out-shooting us."

Team Grant, the other Yukon squad, also lost its final game of the double round robin by a close score of 9-7.

Grant was beaten by Inuvik's Team Allen. Both Allen and Grant finished the playdowns with a 1-5 record.

Besides Strong, other Yukoners competing at the playdowns included Jaime Hewitt, Rhonda Horte and Sandra Mikkelsen, Leslie Grant, Doris Bourvier, Corinne Delaire and Tamar Vandenberge.