Carol Semple Thompson, playing in her record 12th Curtis Cup Match, sank a 27-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to secure the USA's 11-7 victory over the team from the Great Britain & Ireland at the 32nd Match at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh, Pa.

"I can't believe I made the putt," Thompson said. "I was just trying to get it close and it just snuck in there."

For Thompson, it was her 18th victory in the Curtis Cup, another record, and helped stave off a furious rally by the GB&I squad

The USA held a 7-2 lead after the first day of action, including a 3-0 sweep of Saturday's foursomes matches. But two victories in Sunday morning's foursomes mad the GB&I deficit 8-4. Needing to capture 5 1/2 points in the afternoon matches to earn a victory, the GB&I squad was at one point leading in four matches and all square in the remaining two matches.

In her Sunday singles match, Thompson, who won four straight holes against Vikki Laing to go 1-up after being down three holes through seven, was all square heading into the 17th. Thompson hit her drive to 15 feet while Laing's tee shot entered the cavernous right bunker. Laing's second shot didn't make it onto the green, and her third shot went 25 feet past the hole. Thompson putted to within a foot, and when Laing conceded the putt, Thompson took a 1-up lead to set up the 18th-hole drama.

For Thompson, a six-time individual USGA champion playing in front of a hometown crowd with seven collegiate teammates, the victory was extra sweet.

"it's such a fairy tale," she said. "I just can't imagine it ending up this much fun."

Meredith Duncan, the 2001 U.S. Women's Amateur champion, earned a 3-and-1 win over Alison Coffey to give the USA 10 points and an outright victory. The final USA point came when Laura Myerscough rebounded from being down five holes to earn a 2-up victory over Heather Stirling.

For GB&I captain Pam Benka, her team's effort after a difficult first day almost did the trick, particularly after a strong star in the morning matches.

"We could have had a disastrous morning and the thing would have been over by lunchtime," Benka said. "We still gave ourselves a fighting chance, and the talk in our changing rooms was that we were really going to go for it."

The USA has now won three consecutive Curtis Cups, dating back to 1998, and leads the series overall, 23-6-3.