When the U.S. girls’s 3×3 basketball staff fell to 0-3 in pool play, repeating as Olympic gold medalists appeared like a pipe dream. It appeared {that a} lack of chemistry and expertise would show insurmountable, and that USA Basketball’s choice choices could have been off the mark.
The staff — comprised of Hailey Van Lith, Dearica Hamby, Cierra Burdick, and Rhyne Howards — fell to Canada, Germany, and Azerbaijan to start the Olympics. A part of the struggles could have been the results of circumstances out of their management — Cameron Brink, a key fixture of this system, was a late scratch as a consequence of an ACL tear. Whereas Sparks teammate Dearica Hamby changed Brink within the lineup, she had little time to acclimate to enjoying together with her new 3×3 teammates. It additionally didn’t assist that the Dream’s Rhyne Howard was out of fee for the month previous to the Olympics coping with an ankle sprain.
Haley Van Lith and Cierra Burdick are the one two returning members from final yr’s World Cup staff that received the gold medal, and each expressed their disappointment with the gradual begin within the early days.
“We began enjoying tender, they usually performed a lot more durable than us,” Van Lith stated after a loss to Canada.
“We’re probably the most inexperienced staff right here,” Burdick stated after the loss to Azerbaijan.
However, 3×3 basketball is a sport of momentum, and Van Lith, Burdick, Hamby, and Howard had been capable of construct some, rattling off 5 consecutive wins to safe their unlikely spot within the semifinals. Three days later after falling to 0-3 in Olympic pool play, they’re proper the place they wish to be: place to contend for an Olympic medal.
USA’s Saturday started with a 14-12 win in opposition to China. Hailey Van Lith the best way in that one, scoring a game-high 6 factors (on 4-9 taking pictures). That solidified the U.S. because the #3 seed within the match, which superior them to the play-in spherical, performed in a while Saturday. (The #1 and #2 seeds mechanically advance to the semi-finals, whereas seeds #3-6 advance to the play-in with an opportunity to compete for a semifinals berth).
Since China ended up ranked sixth total, the 2 groups confronted off once more simply 4 hours later, at 4pm ET. In that single-elimination contest, it was Dearica Hamby who took over. Hamby hit back-to-back pictures from past the arc (every price two factors) to provide USA an early lead, and completed with a game-high 9 factors, together with 3-3 from two-point vary. Cierra Burdick and Rhyne Howard every added 5 factors, whereas Burdick grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds.
The 21-13 win caps a dominant five-game win streak and demonstrates the 3×3 staff’s resilience within the face of adversity. Now, the U.S. is one in every of 4 groups to maneuver ahead to the medal video games.
Up Subsequent
On the final Olympics, the U.S. got here away with gold, however that was a wholly totally different roster, one led by Kelsey Plum, Allisha Grey, Stefanie Dolson, and Jackie Younger. This roster has the prospect to repeat on Monday, August fifth, when the semifinals happen.
Germany will face Canada at 11:30a and Spain will face the US at 12:30pm ET. The winners of the 2 video games will face off within the Gold Medal Closing at 4pm, whereas the losers will compete for the bronze medal at 3pm ET.
