After a narrow win earlier in the day to stay alive, the U.S. women’s 3×3 basketball team heads into the semifinals.
The United States crushed China 21-13 on Saturday night in France, marking its second straight win over the country in a matter of hours. The victory officially pushed the Americans into the semifinals, which is a remarkable feat after their slow start to play at La Concorde at the Paris Olympics.
The women’s team started with an 0-3 record in the group stage, but then reeled off four straight wins (including one over China on Saturday afternoon) to close out the group stage and earn a spot in the playoff. The U.S. beat China 14-12 in its final match, giving it third place in the tournament and setting up a rematch on Saturday night in the playoff round.
After a rocky start, Dearica Hamby got going with a huge 5-0 run for the U.S. and blew the game wide open. The Los Angeles Sparks forward hit back-to-back 2-pointers before sinking a one-pointer to suddenly put the Americans ahead by four. Hamby then found Cierra Burdick, who made a cut for a back-door layup to make it a 6-0 run that gave the U.S. a five-point lead, its largest of the game to that point.
Although China cut the lead to three, the Americans never let up. Rhyne Howard sparked a quick 4-1 run with a two-pointer of his own, and then Hamby hit a one-pointer with about 90 seconds left to extend their lead to five. China held scoreless for the final minute and 57 seconds of the game, and they only got two baskets from Mingling Chen in the final three minutes. Howard, a two-time All-Star with the Atlanta Dream, and Hamby added three points in the final 10 seconds to close out the game early and give the U.S. the eight-point victory. It was the first time in the competition that the Americans scored 21 points as a team.
Hamby finished with nine points on three two-pointers in the win. Burdick added five points and eight rebounds, and Howard finished with five points. Jiyuan Wan had four points and three rebounds for China.
The United States will advance to the semifinals on Monday, where it will face Spain. Canada advanced to the other semifinal game and will face Germany in the first matchup. The bronze medal and gold medal games will be played later Monday afternoon.