CHARLOTTETOWN - Amber Holland knew how long it had been since Saskatchewan won a Canadian women's curling championship and who the last team was to wear that crown.

She led her Kronau Curling Club rink to a Scotties Tournament of Hearts title Sunday for the first time since Sandra Schmirler won the third of her three Canadian championships in 1997.

"You're never going to live up to that, but it's nice to be in that company," said Holland after ending the reign of Winnipeg's Jennifer Jones at the Charlottetown Civic Centre, stealing a point in the 10th end to defeat the four-time champion 8-7.

Schmirler's name is legendary in Saskatchewan and in curling circles. She was the skip of the Regina team that won Canada's first Olympic gold medal in women's curling in 1998. Schmirler died just two years later of cancer at the age of 36.

"Sandra's legacy always live on," said Holland.

The Capital One Women's World Curling Championships will be in Esjberg, Denmark from March 18th to 27th. For the first time since 2007, the Jones team will not wear the Maple Leaf.

Canada will be represented by Holland, third Kim Schneider, second Tammy Schneider and lead Heather Kalenchuk. Among the other bonuses from their win, they'll earn a return trip to the 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Red Deer, Alta., as Team Canada.

Holland also continued Saskatchewan's run of success in curling this winter. Braeden Moskowy of Regina and Trish Paulsen of Saskatoon captured the Canadian junior men's and women's titles earlier this month in Calgary.

"Both of them said 'we started it. You better keep going. We're kind of happy we could do that," Holland said. "I think Saskatchewan is going to be rocking for a few days."

Jones, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn Askin were attempting to win a fourth straight Scotties and tie the record for consecutive titles. Third Kaitlyn Lawes was new to the team this season. Jones and Officer also won a national championship in 2005.

Leading 6-3 after five ends, Jones had control of the game and appeared on her way to another championship. She was relaxed, encouraging her young third Lawes and smiling often.

But when Holland scored a pivotal three in the sixth end to tie it, the tone of the game changed. It was a battle the rest of the way.

An uncharacteristic miss by Askin trying to peel a guard in the 10th allowed Saskatchewan to put up a second guard. Saskatchewan had a counter at the top of the 12-foot rings and Canada had shot stone behind it on the eight-foot.

Jones' teammates kept attempting double peels to open up the rings for their skip, but could only remove one. Holland opted to come into the rings with her first shot of the end, but her draw did not finish and stayed in the open.

Jones removed the Saskatchewan stone, but her shooter rolled away to the 12-foot rings and left an opening for Holland to come in. Holland was more precise on her last shot, making a draw for a piece of the button behind cover.

Jones attempted a double raise takeout for the win, but the rocks spilled the wrong way, her counter rolling wide and a Saskatchewan counter staying in the rings for shot stone.

"I had a shot to win and I missed it," said Jones. "I thought we hit it pretty much where we wanted to. It had to curl probably an inch more.

"That's curling and that's why it makes it so exciting. They played great and they're going to be great Canadian representatives. It's been a great run, but we've got lots of events still to come. I think this is just the beginning for this team."

Holland's team also earned automatic berths in the 2012 Continental Cup that pits North American curlers against Europeans and the $150,000 Canada Cup of Curling in December.

National champions are eligible for $144,000 of Sport Canada funding over a two-year period, as well as $40,000 from the Canadian Curling Association's National Team Program to cover training and competition costs. The Canadian champion is also paid another $10,000 to wear the crest of Scotties sponsor Kruger at the world championship.

A Canadian championship also contributes valuable points to a team's position in the CCA's Canadian Team Ranking System, which will ultimately determine who qualifies for the Olympic trials in 2013.

Holland's team went 6-5 in their first appearance at the Scotties last year in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. They came to Charlottetown armed with that experience and posted the best record in the preliminary round at 9-2.

"The event itself, it's a long week," Kim Schneider said. "We prepared a little different mentally. We worked with a nutritionist to make sure we had the energy to get us to this point and through the last game. That was a huge help."

Jones and Saskatchewan each earned $15,500 in prize money that goes to the finalists, Nova Scotia picked up $11,500 for winning the bronze medal and Ontario won $7,500 for fourth.

Attendance over 23 draws at the Charlottetown Civic Centre was 48,473 for an average of 2,200.