PARIS (Aug. 5, 2024) – Following five days of pool play, a play-in contest and a semifinal match, 2024 USA 3x3 Women’s National Teamers Cierra Burdick, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard and Hailey Van Lith earned a bronze medal at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
In a miraculous turn of events, the USA 3x3 Women’s National Team triumphed in six of its final seven contests to secure its second consecutive Olympic medal. The unit’s previous iteration, led by Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young, pocketed a gold medal at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
The United States entered its first contest of the day after clinching a berth to the tournament’s semifinal round with a play-in victory over China. The 5-3 Americans squared off against the 4-3 Spainards, who automatically advanced to the semis as the No. 2 seed.
After opening with an 0-3 mark, the team notched its first Olympic win, 17-11, against Spain on day three of pool play.
The quartet appeared to ride its momentum from its five-game winning streak and kick-started action with a 3-1 edge through the first minute of play. The Spaniards responded with a 3-1 spurt, however, to knot the score at four at the 7:24 mark.
Van Lith, who entered the semifinal round as the United States’ leading bucket-getter, nailed an and-one layup, netted a 2-pointer and hit another driving layup to push the USA ahead 9-4. Hamby and Howard kept their group ahead by four, 11-7, with under five minutes to spare, but the red, white and blue’s foul total gradually ballooned to seven.
Spain crept back to tie it at 11, and the score remained neck and neck until the final sequence. Knotted at 15, Howard drilled a pull-up jumper from the elbow with 13 ticks remaining, but Spain immediately responded with an uncontested layup to make it 16 all.
Hamby couldn’t get her final shot attempt off in time, and the United States would head into overtime for the second time at the Summer Games. There, Spain closed with a layup and free throw to hand the USA its first loss since Aug. 1, 18-16.
Van Lith captained scoring duties for the Americans with eight tallies and five boards while Hamby poured in five points and registered seven rebounds. Howard added three points and Burdick lassoed five rebounds.
Despite out-rebounding Spain 23-14, the USA allowed Spain to get to the line early and often. That, coupled with the Spaniards’ proficiency from deep, bridged the gap between a win and loss.
The defeat qualified the United States for the bronze medal game against a fierce Canadian team, a unit the Americans defeated courtesy of a Howard 2-pointer from the right wing in overtime on Aug. 2.
A pair of 2-pointers and swift inside scoring pushed Canada ahead 7-3 early, but the American foursome never abandoned hope. Van Lith and Howard rattled off three unanswered points to pull within one, but Canada roared back with another 2-point look and turnaround 1-pointer to establish a 12-9 edge with 3:05 to go.
Hamby followed with a layup, and the fearless Van Lith hit a free throw and layup to tie it at 12 with just under 2:00 on the game clock. Canada’s Katherine Plouffe banked in a 1-pointer, but Hamby fired back with an and-one layup to give the United States its first lead of the grudge match, 14-13.
Burdick, the ensemble’s most experienced player, iced the contest from the foul line after Canada failed to execute on its final sequences. The United States’ 16-13 finish netted the group a bronze medal finish, an improbable ending after commencing their Olympic journey at 0-3.
“I’m grateful,” Burdick said after the bronze finish. “It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions today. It’s all a part of sport. There are a lot of lessons that can be learned throughout the journey [and] experience. This is something I’ll be able to tell my family for years to come, and I think it’s something we can be proud of.”
Van Lith finished with a game-best six points and snared two boards while Hamby grabbed six rebounds and accounted for three points. Howard managed four points while Burdick, who closed for the USA, scored three.
“It’s a great feeling,” Van Lith said. “I think I’m most proud of us for this last game because we went from losing in a barn-burner to Spain, getting our gold medal dreams crushed, to having two hours to turn around and play one of the best games of the tournament. That game was all about mental toughness… it shows how much heart this team has.”
While the crew embarked on their Parisian quest with gold aspirations, the bronze finish is a testament to the group’s resilience through a grueling six-day stretch.
“After the rough start that we had, we could’ve just laid down,” Howard said after the match. “We’ve stayed together and we’ve stayed the course. We made something happen.”