“It’s really exciting,” said third stone Sarah Fullerton, who is originally from Cornwall and now resides in Travellers Rest. “We played a really busy schedule on the World Curling Tour, we did eight events. That was all with this goal in mind. We wanted to best prepare for this weekend, and get to the Scotties.”
Next stop for MacPhee, Fullerton, second stone Meaghan Hughes and lead Michelle McQuaid is the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts in St. Catharines, Ont., from Feb. 18 to 26.
“We’ve put a lot of time and effort in this year to make sure we played as many games as we could,” said Hughes, who lives in West Royalty. “I’m especially proud of this team, and how we played.”
MacPhee stole single points in the final two ends for a 7-5 come-from-behind win over clubmate Veronica Smith in the title-clinching game at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Community Complex on Sunday. A Smith win would have forced a winner-take-all final later in the day.
“It was a tough game,” commented McQuaid, who calls Cornwall home. “They certainly gave us a run.
“There were some ups and downs, but we had to tough it out and stick to it.”
MacPhee completed the modified triple-knockout format with a record of 4-1 (won-lost). Smith and her teammates – third stone Jane DiCarlo, second stone Whitney Young and lead Aleya Quilty – who are coached by Angela Hodgson, finished 4-3.
“It definitely wasn’t easy,” admitted Fullerton, 25. “We have played one game a day for the last four or five days.
“It was definitely a challenge, there were some good teams here, we had to bring our best game and dig deep a couple of times. I am just really proud that we were able to play as a team and do that.”