The U.S. women’s 3×3 basketball team won the bronze medal with a 16-13 victory over Canada, led by Hailey Van Lith, the U.S.’ leading Olympic scorer with six points and two assists.
This came after an 18-16 loss to Spain earlier in the day that cost them a chance at the gold medal, in which Van Lith led the team with a game-high eight points but foul trouble in the second half allowed Spain to earn the bonus point.
“This is 1,000 percent a lie,” Van Lith said after the defeat to Spain about the one-sided refereeing. From Malka“The umpires wanted the U.S. to lose. They were going back and forth. They’re not that good. Well done, we know who should have won.”
The U.S. women’s team had just three hours to bounce back from an emotional semifinal loss and rally to compete in their ninth Olympic Games in a week.
What happened in the match against Canada?
In the bronze medal game against Canada, Rhyne Howard scored four points, while Sierra Burdick and Dearica Hamby each had three points. Hamby also grabbed a team-high six rebounds and made several key defensive plays late in the game.
Trailing 12-9 with three minutes remaining, the U.S. women were in danger of missing out on a medal, but they closed out the match with a commanding 7-1 score to seal the victory and ensure they brought the trophy home from Paris.
Dearrica Hamby scored to put the lead within two with 2 1/2 minutes remaining, but moments later Canada was called for a technical foul for constant complaints to the officials. That earned Van Lith a free throw, which she converted to cut Canada’s lead to just one point. She then tied the game with a powerful driving layup with under two minutes left for her sixth point of the night. Hamby reclaimed the lead with an and-one drive, a move that has become commonplace for her throughout the tournament.
With seconds left, Team USA was leading by two, but the fast pace of the 3×3 meant the win was far from assured. Rhyne Howard missed a two-point shot with seven seconds left, but Sierra Burdick got a crucial offensive rebound that nearly sealed the win. Canada was forced to foul Burdick to get the ball back, and Burdick made the free throw to seal the win.
Twin sisters Michelle and Catherine Plouffe have led Canada’s offense throughout the Olympics, averaging 6.1 points apiece in the bronze medal game. They led the way again in this game, but their offensive output wasn’t enough. Michelle struggled with her outside shot, making just 1 of 6 2-point attempts, and the pair combined for just eight points, well below their 12.2 points per game average.
Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Canada’s scoring was limited overall, averaging 18 points per game going into the final game, the most of any Olympic women’s 3×3 team, but a dominant U.S. defense limited Canada to just 13 points in total for the game.
Hailey Van Lith was the team’s leading scorer throughout the tournament averaging 5.2 points per game, while Dearica Hamby was the second leading scorer averaging 4.1 points per game. Hamby was also the tournament’s leading rebounder and third-leading rebounder overall with 4.9 rebounds per game.
After the win, the U.S. embraced each other on center court and waved to the crowd, acknowledging their victory and the journey they’d made from a 3-0 deficit in Olympic pool play to winning a medal.
