PARIS (Aug. 3, 2024) – The 2024 USA 3x3 Women’s National Team is two victories away from earning a gold medal at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Cierra Burdick, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard and Hailey Van Lith pocketed two straight victories against China on Saturday, one via the unit’s final pool play game and the latter through a play-in scenario, at Place de la Concorde in Paris.
Prior to the opening contest, the USA women entered ranked No. 5 in the pool play standings after collecting three straight wins. China, on the other hand, sat at 2-4 and a game behind the red, white and blue in the Olympic hierarchy.
Following a 1:13 period without a score, China struck first with an inside layup. Burdick, Hamby and Van Lith each poured in a bucket, and the scoreboard read 4-4 with 7:06 to spare.
China failed to scratch over the ensuing three minutes, and the United States capitalized. All four Americans poured in 1-point field goals to propel the USA to an 8-4 edge with just over 4:00 to play. China would claw back to cut its deficit to two but Van Lith and company never relented.
Hamby and Van Lith accounted for the USA’s final seven tallies, and the quartet rolled to a 14-12 win as the final buzzer expired. The final score would suggest otherwise, but the United States controlled most of the contest.
Van Lith finished with a game-best six points and snared two boards while Hamby notched four points and five rebounds. Howard added three, and Burdick pulled in three rebounds. The conquest officially wrapped the USA’s pool play run at 4-3.
Three hours later, the United States tipped off against China once more, this time in a play-in setting. The earlier win elevated the Americans into third in the standings, and China fell to sixth.
Hamby and Howard kick-started the USA’s offensive attack with back-to-back layups, but China countered with three consecutive inside scores in under a minute to pull ahead 3-2.
The score teetered until Hamby, best known for her prowess near the paint, drilled two 2-pointers from the left wing to convert her squad’s early deficit into a 9-6 advantage.
“We knew they were jamming the roll, so it was really hard,” Hamby said. “They were super physical down there on my post-ups. We knew the pop was going to be there, and I was just confident tonight.”
The United States piled on, courtesy of layups from Hamby and Burdick, to establish a five-tally lead with 5:53 to go. China netted two looks, one from inside and one from beyond the arch, to make it a three-point game, but the USA’s efficiency outside the painted area proved devastating.
Hamby, Howard and Van Lith fueled the United States’ game-ending 8-3 scoring surge to clinch their fifth straight victory during their run at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The triumph marked the most complete game and first with 21 tallies for the USA.
Hamby captained the scoring charge with nine points, six of which came from 2-point territory, and five rebounds. 3x3 veteran Burdick snagged eight boards and added five 1-pointers and Howard finished with five points of her own.
As a team, the foursome governed the glass. The USA out-rebounded China 21-8, including a 7-3 margin on the offensive end, and shot over 50% from 1-point range.
“We got two more games that are more important, but we keep getting better each game,” Hamby said after clinching a spot in the semis. “This might’ve been our best offensive performance in terms of fluidity.”
With the pair of wins, the USA women will gear up for its semifinal match against Spain at 11:30 a.m. ET on Aug. 5. The victor will advance to play either Germany or Canada in the gold medal game while the loser will compete for a bronze medal.