DEBRECEN, Hungary (Aug. 28, 2026) – Following an impressive 3-0 start at the FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series Debrecen stop this week, the USA wrapped their run in the semifinal round on Friday.
For the third time as a unit on FIBA’s 3x3 Women’s Series, Taylor Bigby, Mikayla Blakes, Aerial Powers and Madison Scott represented the United States in Hungary. Despite battling until the game’s final sequences, the Americans fell to Lille Loko (FRA) 18-17 in as competitive a battle as they played throughout their entire stint overseas.
The USA, backed by early contributions from Bigby, Blakes and Powers, asserted themselves with a 5-3 edge by the 7:53-minute mark. The two groups exchanged blows for the next five minutes of action until the French, who applied interior pressure, scored four straight to make it 15-11.
Blakes and Powers punched back with a 2-pointer and an inside score, respectively, before Powers drilled a 2-pointer through contact from the right wing to give the United States a 17-15 lead. The French held on to nail a last-second 2-pointer, securing an 18-17 win in a game featuring five ties. Powers registered nine points and Blakes recorded six in the semifinal effort.
The USA began the knockout stage as the top team from Pool B. For the second competition in a row, the United States faced Beijing (CHN) with an opportunity to advance to the semis.
The two squads traded buckets for virtually the entire game, with Beijing doing a bulk of their damage from 2-point range. It wasn’t until the 2:37 mark, when Blakes asserted her presence with a crucial 2-pointer, that the Americans broke the game open.
Blakes’ look made it 15-12, empowering the USA to put together what would become a 7-0 run to essentially put the game away. Beijing would add three more points to their total, but the United States’ edge proved too great to overcome. Both Blakes and Powers accounted for seven points in the 21-15 win.
A day earlier, the ensemble kickstarted their run against Rapid Bucharest (ROU), the tournament’s No. 2 seed. The seesaw affair saw the USA take a 21-19 victory with Blakes closing the game at the free throw line. Roughly two hours later, the quartet walked away with a hard-fought 14-12 win over Ukraine (UKR) to close pool play.
A full recap from Debrecen can be found here.
For full results of the 2026 FIBA 3x3 Women's Series Debrecen, click here.