Manitoba won gold at the New Holland Canadian Junior Women鈥檚 Curling Championship in 91原创 Sunday morning, defeating Alberta 10-3.

MacKenzie Zacharias and her Altona Curling Club rink of third Karlee Burgess, second Emily Zacharias, lead Lauren Lenentine, and coach Sheldon Zacharias haven鈥檛 lost a game in over a month after dominating the Manitoba Junior provincial play-downs with a 9-0 record.

For Manitoba, it was the first Canadian junior women鈥檚 title since Kaitlyn Lawes won consecutive championships in 2008 and 2009.

It was a disappointment for returning champion Abby Marks, the 20-year-old skip for Team Alberta, who was hoping for back-to-back gold medal wins.

Congratulations to Team () on winning the 2020 New Holland Canadian Junior Women's Curling Championship! 馃�� 馃嚚馃嚘

鈥� Curling Canada (@CurlingCanada)

It was a tight game through seven ends as the Alberta team, featuring two members of the 2019 Canadian champs skipped by Selena Sturmay (Marks and second Paige Papley played third and lead respectively last year), hung tough against a favoured Manitoba team that entered the gold-medal game with 10 straight wins.

But in the eighth, Manitoba delivered the crushing blow 鈥� a precise angle takeout to drive an Alberta stone through a hole and score four to put Manitoba into an insurmountable 8-3 lead.

鈥淚t hasn鈥檛 sunk in completely yet; it鈥檒l probably take a couple days,鈥� marvelled Mackenzie Zacharias, 20. 鈥淚 still can鈥檛 believe that my name is going to be on the back of a Canadian jacket. That鈥檚 been my dream forever, and I can鈥檛 believe it鈥檚 really coming true.鈥�

Burgess became the first player ever to win three women鈥檚 gold medals at the New Holland Canadian Junior Curling Championships; she鈥檇 won two previously with Nova Scotia (2016, skipped by Mary Fay; 2018, skipped by Kaitlyn Jones), and a 10-3 win Sunday over Alberta鈥檚 Abby Marks gave her an unprecedented third.

鈥淭his could be one of the best Canadians I鈥檝e won, too,鈥� said Burgess.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty special; I moved halfway across Canada to play with these girls and coming out with a win here is pretty exciting. I can鈥檛 believe it actually.鈥�

Burgess left her Nova Scotia home this past summer to move to Manitoba, to pursue her education and be closer to her boyfriend Jacques Gauthier, who will skip Manitoba #2 in the men鈥檚 gold-medal game later on Sunday; the two met while playing at the 2017 Canadian Juniors.

The silver-medal Alberta team was rounded out by vice-skip Catherine Clifford, lead Jamie Scott and coach Doug Marks.

Nova Scotian鈥檚 Taylour Stevens, backed up by vice-skip Lindsey Burgess (Karlee鈥檚 cousin), second Kate Callaghan, lead Cate Fitzgerald and coach Mary Mattatall, will go home with a bronze medal.

This afternoon, in the men鈥檚 gold medal game, Newfoundland/Labrador will play the Manitoba #2 team.

READ MORE: Gold medal games get underway at the New Holland Canadian Junior Curling Championship in 91原创

The winners of Sunday鈥檚 gold-medal games will represent Canada at the 2020 World Junior Curling Championships, beginning Feb. 15 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

RELATED: VIDEO 鈥� 2020 New Holland Canadian Junior Championships officially begin

More photos can be viewed .

dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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