Women’s Final – Saskatchewan defeats Alberta, 6-4

Saskatchewan (Trish Paulsen of Saskatoon) wins the 2011 M&M Meat Shops Canadian junior women’s curling championship, 6-4 over Alberta (Nadine Chyz of Calgary) at the North Hill Community Curling Club in Calgary. It is the first Canadian junior title for skip Trish Paulsen, third Kari Kennedy, second Kari Paulsen and lead Natalie Yanko.  For coach Bob Miller, it is his third Canadian junior title, after coaching daughters Stefanie Lawton (nee Miller)  and Marliese Kasner (nee Miller) to wins in 2000 and 2003, respectively. It is a leading 11th Canadian junior women’s title for Saskatchewan since the championship began in 1971, but the first since skip Mandy Selzer won in Thunder Bay in 2006. Paulsen and her Nutana Curling Club team will now represent Canada at the 2011 world junior curling championships in Perth, Scotland, March 5-13. Canada has won a leading eight world junior women’s titles since 1988, the latest one by Marliese Kasner (nee Miller) in 2003 in Flims, Switzerland.