PARIS — The U.S. 3×3 women’s basketball team has only practiced together for two weeks because of an array of injuries.
That showed Tuesday night when the Americans opened pool play with a sloppy, mistake-filled 17-13 loss to Germany.
Taking advantage of an array of mixed box-outs and blown pick-and-roll coverages, Germany built an 11-8 lead with just over three minutes left in the 10-minute game and put pressure on the U.S. to shoot quickly. The Germans all but clinched the victory in the final minute when sharpshooter Marie Reichert was left open in the corner and buried a shot from behind the arc to increase her team’s lead to 16-12.
Hailey Van Lith sparked the U.S. with her tough shot making, passing and creativity off the dribble, but her team-high six points weren’t enough to propel the U.S. team to victory. Too often the U.S. struggled to create good looks when Van Lith wasn’t on the floor and resorted to 1-on-1 basketball.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. I didn’t think it was going to be that ugly,” said Cierra Burdock, the U.S. team’s most experienced 3×3 player. “We’re the most inexperienced team here. We’ve got a lot of skill, a lot of talent, but that doesn’t win 3×3 games. That was a prime example today.”
Source Agencies
