When the U.S. women’s 3×3 team fell 0-3 in pool play, repeating as Olympic gold medalists seemed like a distant possibility. It appeared a lack of chemistry and experience could prove too much to overcome — Cameron Brink was a late scratch due to an ACL tear, and Rhyne Howard missed the few weeks of prior to the Olympics nursing an ankle sprain.
But, three days later they are right where they want to be: headed to the semi-finals and in position to contend for a medal.
Hailey Van Lith the way in the final pool play game of the day with a game-high 6 points (on 4-9 FG) against China. That gave the U.S. the #3 seed in the tournament, which advanced them to the play-in round. Dearica Hamby added 4 points on 4-8 shooting in that one.
In the play-in game — a single-elimination contest also against China — it was Dearica Hamby who took over. Hamby hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc (each worth two points) to give USA an early lead, and finished with a game-high 9 points, including 3-3 from two-point range. Cierra Burdick and Rhyne Howard each added 5 points. Burdick grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds.
The medal games will take place on Monday, August 5th. Germany will face Canada at 11:30am, and Spain will face the United at 12:30pm ET. The winners of the two games will face off in the Gold Medal Final at 4pm, while the losers will compete for the bronze medal at 3pm ET.
