WELLAND, Ont. - The Laurier Golden Hawks women's curling team saw its bid for an 11th OUA championship come to a narrow end Sunday morning, falling 6-5 to a familiar foe in the quarterfinals of the 2026 OUA women's curling championships at the Welland Curling Club.

Laurier, skipped by Emma Artichuk, with vice Dominique Vivier, second Scotia Maltman, lead Tori Zemmelink and alternate Isla Holmes, entered the championship tournament seeking its first conference title since 2022, after being defeated by McMaster in last year's final.

The Golden Hawks opened the event with a 7-3 loss to eventual-champion Guelph, but rebounded strongly in pool play. Laurier posted three consecutive victories - a 5-4 win over Waterloo, followed by decisive 11-2 and 9-0 wins against Western and Windsor - to finish 3-1 and sit atop its pool heading into the playoffs.

In Sunday's quarterfinal match-up against the defending champions, Laurier jumped out to an early advantage. , the Golden Hawks controlled play through the first five ends to build a 5-0 lead.

The momentum shifted in the sixth end, when Laurier surrendered a four to allow their opponents back into the contest.

Singles in the seventh and eighth ends proved costly, as the defending champions completed the comeback to edge Laurier by a single point.

Despite the team's early exit, Vivier was named an OUA first-team all-star at the conclusion of the championship.