After starting the 2022 women's curling Olympics so well, Team USA had a disappointing finish, falling to Japan 10-7 in the final game of round robin play Wednesday.
With the loss, Team USA finished round robin play, and its Olympics, 4-5. The US lost five of its final six games, and have been eliminated from the medal rounds.
Japan got on the board first Wednesday by scoring one in the opening end. Satsuki Fujisawa’s team stole three more in the second after working to clear the house of nothing but three of their own stones. On the U.S.’s hammer throw, Tabitha Peterson couldn’t get the rock past the guard, allowing Japan to go up 4-0.
The U.S. got two back in the third, but Japan answered with two of their own in the fourth on a tapout draw shot to extend the lead to 6-2.
Patience paid off for a time for Tabitha Peterson’s U.S. team. Team USA had an open takeout with the hammer stone in the seventh, and the hit was good for four points to make the score 7-7 with three ends to play.
But Japan got two right back in the eighth to retake its lead.
In the ninth, Japan overtook a USA stone on the button with its final throw. With the hammer, Peterson tried to just get a draw to land more on the button, but came up just inches short, allowing Japan to steal another point and take a 10-7 lead into the final end.
Japan made its win official on their sixth throw of the tenth. Fujisawa got a double takeout to run USA out of rocks, forcing a concession by the U.S. team.
The U.S. women's curling team has now failed to medal in every Olympics it has played in.
