USA 3x3 Olympics Women's Basketball Team Falls Again to Azerbaijan
The USA Women's Basketball 3x3 team is not off to good start at the Olympics in Paris. After losing the opening game to Germany, Team USA fell again, this time to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan was led by former UConn star and current member of the Las Vegas Aces Tiffany Hayes. Hayes had 11 points, 7 rebounds, and was 8-12 from the floor in the 20-17 win.
BIG DUB!!@tiphayes3 and Azerbaijan 3x3 secure the 20-17 W over USA!
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) July 31, 2024
11 PTS / 7 REB / 8-12 FG pic.twitter.com/LXpRvWTnRm
The defense of the gold won in Tokyo is looking dicey for the U.S. squad made up of Los Angeles Sparks All-Star Dearica Hamby, Atlanta Dream scorer Rhyne Howard, TCU's Hailey Van Lith, and Cierra Burdick, who currently plays for Valencia Basket Club. Hamby replaced teammate Cameron Brink on the roster after Brink suffered a torn ACL.
😢😢
— USA Basketball 3x3 (@usab3x3) July 31, 2024
🇺🇸 #3x3WNT returns to action against 🇦🇺 Australia (7 am ET) & 🇪🇸 Spain (3:30 pm ET) tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/oMJvguiUuk
Making it out of pool play no longer looks like a sure thing for the group who go against Australia and Spain next. All eight teams at the Olympics play each other once in the first stage, with the top two moving on to the semi-finals, while 3-6 will face off in play-in games to see who advances. The games are only 10 minutes long, or first to 21, and feature a 12-second shot clock. Shots inside the arc are good for one point, while makes from the outside are worth two.
Tiffany Hayes gets free for a layup and, following a forced HVL three that misses the rim, she wins the game for Azerbaijan! Eleven points in a dominant effort from Tip, and Team USA falls to 0-2 in 3x3.
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) July 31, 2024
Team USA has seen a total turnover of the roster since winning gold in Tokyo. That team was made up of current Olympian Kelsey Plum of the Aces, WNBA All-Star standout Allisha Gray of the Dream, Washington Mystics shooter Stefanie Dolson, and Katie Lou Samuelson of the Indiana Fever.
ROBIN LUNDBERG
Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!