The United States women's curling team suffered an 8-7 loss to Great Britain in a crucial round-robin match at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Great Britain's skip Rebecca Morrison sealed the victory with a precise steal of two points in the 10th end. The defeat leaves Team USA needing a win against Switzerland to clinch a semifinal spot.
In a tense matchup on February 18, 2026, the U.S. women's curling team, led by skip Tabitha Peterson, entered the game tied for second place with Switzerland. The Americans took an early lead, tying the score at 2-2 in the fourth end with Peterson's draw to the button. They extended it to 3-2 in the fifth when Morrison's throw failed to remove a U.S. stone from scoring position.
Great Britain responded by scoring two in the sixth end, but the U.S. pulled ahead with three points in the seventh, using their hammer advantage, for a 6-4 lead. Peterson's team stole one more in the eighth, reaching 7-4. However, Great Britain narrowed the gap with two points in the ninth, setting up a 7-6 U.S. lead entering the final end.
Up by one, the U.S. placed a stone on the button, but Peterson's hammer throw hit a guard, missing the intended scatter. Morrison then executed a difficult shot, banking off a U.S. guard to eject an American stone and take the button, stealing two for the 8-7 win. "It was maybe a tactical error, and then a miss, really, and they made a great shot," Peterson said. "I'd say maybe you make that less than 50 percent of the time. It's a tough shot. So yeah, I mean, kudos to them."
The loss drops the U.S. to 5-3, tying them for third with South Korea and Canada, while Great Britain improves to 4-4, keeping their medal hopes alive. Sweden leads at 7-2, followed by Switzerland at 6-2. Team USA, featuring Tara Peterson, Cory Thiesse, and Taylor Anderson-Heide, can still clinch a semifinal berth—their first since 2002—with a victory over Switzerland on Thursday at 8:05 a.m. ET. A loss would require Great Britain to drop one of their remaining games against Japan or Italy.
"That one hurt a little more," Peterson added about her final shots. "We'll talk about it in our debrief and then we have to move on." The U.S. outshot Great Britain 84-72 percent overall, showing strong performance despite the outcome. Peterson emphasized focusing on positives: "We did a lot right that game, so we'll kind of just focus on that and regroup for a big game tomorrow."
Great Britain's win avoids elimination for the defending Olympic champions, who now face Japan later on Wednesday and Italy on Thursday.
