The team of Tabitha Peterson, Corey Thisse, Tara Peterson and Taylor Anderson-Heide trailed 4-1 after the fifth end. But the rally began in the fifth with a 2–0 victory, reducing the match deficit to 4–3. The U.S. comeback appeared to be halted with China reaching seventh to extend its lead to 5-3. Yet it made an impressive comeback during the next three overs.
“We just had to stick with it,” said Team USA skip Tara Peterson (via NBC Sports). “We had a good team meeting at the break in the fifth end, figuring out what we needed to do to turn it around for us in the second half, and we got more energy and our draw pace got a little better, and we kept the pressure on them to make some tough shots.”
With that extra energy, Team USA stole points in the ninth and 10th ends for an improbable victory. And the Americans came back strongly and won, making it one of the greatest victories in American memory.
Still trailing 5–4 until the ninth end, Rui Wang missed her attempt to knock an American stone out of the button. This gave Team USA a chance to steal a point and tie the match at 5-5 by the 10th end. From there, the best was really saved for last.
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China had the hammer to the end and built a virtual fortress of stones around the button. But Tabitha Peterson somehow managed to deftly navigate the traffic, making it difficult for Wang to thread the proverbial needle on her next throw.
Unfortunately for China, Wang didn’t get enough of a push, leaving his stone in the back of the house. This opened up an opportunity for Peterson to place his stone closest to the center, stealing the point and securing the win for the United States.
“I think it says a lot about our team. We’re not going to give up,” Peterson said after the match, via Olympic.com. “Just keep the game tight, and anything can happen, even if it’s a steal in the last one.”
After six seasons in round-robin play, the U.S. is in second place at 4-1. Only Sweden is ahead with a 5-0 record and Switzerland is right behind Team USA at 3-1. The Swiss will face Great Britain on Monday at 3:05 pm ET. Meanwhile, the US will face home country Italy at 1:05 pm ET to kick off the day.
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