Oregon's Sophomore Sensations Look to Defend 3x3 Titles

Oregon won the 3x3 national championship in each of the last two tournaments.

Te-Hina Paopao, Maddie Scherr, Sydney Parrish, and Kylee Watson will represent the Ducks in the 2021 Redbull USA Basketball 3X Nationals this weekend as they defend the Ducks’ national titles.

The event, held at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., was won by Oregon in 2018 and 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 event was cancelled.

Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard, Oti Gildon, and Lydia Giomi won the title in 2019; Ionescu, Hebard, Gildon and Erin Boley won in 2018.

Parrish and Watson have experienced the 3x3 format, playing together in a national camp while they were establishing themselves as high-level recruits. Paopao and Scherr haven’t experienced the format, but Gildon, who is now Oregon’s interim director of creativity/student athlete support, has helped them learn the unique format.

“It’s so different,” Paopao said in story by Rob Moseley on GoDucks.com. “The first time we played it was hilarious because we had no idea what we were doing. But as time went on, we’ve gotten better, so I’m excited to see what happens.”

Th game is played on a half court with a 12-second shot clock and a 10-minute game clock. Baskets inside the arc and at the free throw line are worth one point each, and baskets behind the arc are worth two points each. The winner is decided when a team scores 21 points or has the lead after the 10-minute game clock runs out.

The tournament tips off on Saturday with preliminary rounds. Teams will be seeded based on the results of the preliminary games for Sunday’s elimination games. The Ducks earned an automatic bid into the tournament as they are the defending champions.

“I think we have a big target on our back, because they know we’re one of the younger teams,” Parrish told GoDucks.com. “So I’m excited.”

Paopao and Scherr are healthy and ready to compete this weekend. Paopao suffered a foot injury that ended her season prior to the Pac-12 Tournament, and Scherr twisted her ankle in the Ducks’ loss to Louisville in the Sweet 16.

The four Ducks were part of the historic 2020 recruiting class that saw five 5-star players come to Eugene. Angela Dugalic was the fifth, but she transferred to UCLA after her freshman season at Oregon.

The competition will provide the young Ducks a chance to show off their development from last season, a season in which the team’s offseason training was limited due to strict health and safety protocols in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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