The United States missed out on a back-to-back women’s 3×3 basketball title, with one of its star players blaming the refereeing.
The USA lost to Spain in the semifinals, who ultimately lost to Germany in the gold medal match, before defeating Canada to win the bronze medal.
But the U.S. is almost certain to win the gold medal in basketball: In regular basketball, the men’s team has won 16 gold medals in 20 appearances, while the women’s team has won nine in 12 appearances (one silver and one bronze).
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
U.S. Team Hailey Van Lith will compete against Canada in the women’s 3×3 basketball bronze medal game in Paris on August 5, 2024. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
However, that was not the case this time. When the 3×3 tournament was first held in Tokyo in 2021, the women’s team won the gold medal, but this year they sadly fell just short.
TCU’s Hailey Van Lith, who transferred to the Horned Frogs after a standout performance at LSU last season, called the shots after dropping eight points in the semifinals.
“This is a 1,000 percent lie. The umpires wanted the U.S. to lose,” she said. After the match“They were making mistakes left and right. They’re not that good players. Well done, guys. We know who should have won.”
Her teammate, Sierra Burdick, took a different path.
Team USA’s Dearika Hamby (left), Sierra Burdick, Haley Van Lith and Rhyne Howard celebrate after winning the bronze medal in women’s 3×3 basketball on Aug. 5, 2024 in Paris. (Daniella Porcelli/Eurasia Sports Images/Getty Images)
US Olympic shot putter says uniform ‘nightmare’
“Obviously it’s not the medal we were hoping for, but we don’t want to ruin this moment,” Burdick said. After the bronze medal “A lot of gratitude and a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this game. It sounds cliché, but it’s so true.”
But Van Lith’s comments do line up with something ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said recently.
“FIBA doesn’t want the U.S. to do well in 3-on-3 basketball. They want countries that can’t field 5-on-5 teams to make it,” Windhorst said.
“So they’re doing a lot of different things and they have to do different tiers of things to qualify. … The only way they can qualify is by competing in 15 qualifying events.”
Hailey Van Lith of the United States team competes against Germany at the Paris Olympics on July 30, 2024. (Alex Gottschalk/Defodi Images via Getty Images)
Click here to get the FOX News app
The men’s 3×3 team had two wins and five losses in seven games, failing to advance to the next round in the group stage.
Follow Fox News Digital X’s sports coverage subscribe Fox News Sports Huddle Newsletter.
