The U.S. women’s 3×3 basketball team, on its way to playing in the Olympics and defending its gold medal, lost its opening group game to Germany, 13-17. The four-piece team of Hailey Van Lith, Sierra Burdick, Diarika Hamby and Rhyne Howard has only been playing together for a few weeks, and that was evident in an error-riddled game on Tuesday afternoon in Paris.
Burdick and Van Lith were both members of the team that won gold at the 2023 World Cup, while Hamby and Howard are new members. Howard WNBA Although she is a star player and member of the Atlanta Dream, she hasn’t played as much 3×3 basketball as some of the other players.
Hamby, meanwhile, is in Paris filling in for Los Angeles Sparks rookie Cameron Brink, who won a gold medal with Burdick and Van Lith last year. I tore my anterior cruciate ligament last month.And her veteran WNBA teammate, Hamby Replacement Name.
What went wrong with USA 3×3?
The U.S. led 5-0 and looked to have the upper hand early on, but Germany stormed back and re-took the lead with hot shooting and stifling defense. After a fast start, the U.S. seemed to lose steam in the second half of the game, making a series of defensive errors that gave Germany clear chances.
“We were kind of out of breath at the end of the game, to be honest,” Van Lith told USA Today. “We started out playing loose, and they played a lot harder than us.”
One challenge for the U.S. is that 3×3 basketball is very different from the 5×5 format that USA Basketball has dominated in the past. Each game lasts 10 minutes, has a 12-second shot clock and scores are counted differently: a regular field goal inside the arc counts as one point, while shots outside the arc count as two points.
Germany started the game 0-for-9 from the field, but improved in the second half, finishing with 53% 1-point shooting and 40% 3-point shooting. The U.S. struggled to get into rhythm on outside shots, making only one outside shot, which is especially important in 3×3 basketball.
Van Lith got within one point (13-12) with 1 minute 36 seconds left, but Germany dominated after that. German shooter Stella Reichert hit a two-pointer to give Germany a 16-12 lead with under a minute to go and all but decided the game.
Haley Van LithThe 22-year-old guard, who now plays NCAA basketball for TCU, led the U.S. with six points on 5-of-8 field goal shooting, plus three rebounds and two assists. She was the U.S. team’s best player for most of the game, and the score was even when she was on the court. The U.S. offense was disjointed throughout the game, and especially stagnated when she was on the bench.
Ryne Howard Howard, who has the least experience in 3×3, struggled in the opening game, especially on defense, as she was repeatedly beaten by German players on backdoor cuts. Howard missed a month of the WNBA season with an ankle injury and was unable to further solidify the team going into the Olympics. She looked sluggish in the opening pool game, going 1-of-8 from the field and 0-of-5 from 3-point range.
Dearica Hamby He added four points and seven rebounds. Sierra BurdickThe most veteran 3×3 player of the pack, added two points and four assists.
The U.S. led 5-0, but Germany responded with six straight points to take the lead again. Germany’s interior defense had a major impact on the U.S. team, blocking six shots while the U.S. failed to block any.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be a good outcome,” Burdick said after the loss. From Yahoo Sports“I didn’t expect it to go so badly. We’re the most inexperienced team here. We have a lot of skill and talent, but that doesn’t win you a 3×3 match. Today was a prime example of that.”
How did you fare on the field?
Canada, Germany, Spain and China all started the first day with wins, while Australia, Azerbaijan, the United States and France all started with losses.
- Canada beat Australia 22-14
- Spain beats Azerbaijan 18-15
- Germany beat the United States 17-13
- China beat France 21-19 in overtime.
Team USA’s next opponent
The good news for Team USA is that pool play will continue through Saturday, with the top two teams advancing immediately to the semifinals and the next four teams moving on to a play-in round to compete for the remaining two semifinal spots.
Hailey Van Lith expressed confidence in her team despite the initial loss. From Yahoo Sports.
“This isn’t just a one-game tournament. It’s a 10- or 11-game tournament,” she said. “There are still a lot of games left. We’ll be fine.”
Team USA will continue pool play tomorrow, with the medal games scheduled for early next week. Here is the schedule:
- Wednesday, July 31: vs. Azerbaijan, 3:30 p.m. ET (Pool matches)
- Thursday, August 1: Australia vs. 7:00 a.m. ET (Pool matches)
- Thursday, August 1: vs. Spain, 3:30 p.m. ET (Pool Play)
- Friday, August 2: vs France, 7am ET (pool play), vs Canada, 12pm ET (pool play)
- Saturday, August 3: vs. China, 1:05 p.m. ET (Pool Match)
- Monday, August 5: Semi-finals, bronze medal, gold medal
