USA Basketball 3×3 ladies fall to Azerbaijan, drop to 0-2 in pool play: “We’re probably the most inexperienced crew right here”

On Tuesday, the U.S. ladies’s 3×3 crew dropped its first match of the Olympics, a 17-13 loss to Germany that lead guard Hailey Van Lith described as “delicate” and teammate Cierra Burdick admitted was “ugly.”

On Wednesday, a nasty Olympic begin obtained worse for the ladies’s USA Basketball’s 3×3 program, as Azerbaijan beat the US, 20-17.

The back-and-forth recreation was tied at 17 with 20 seconds to go, however the U.S. couldn’t get a shot up in time, regardless of Burdick — probably the most skilled member of the crew — emphatically gathering the ladies and drawing up a play upfront.

Then, the Las Vegas Aces’ Tiffany Hayes, a naturalized citizen of Azerbaijan, took benefit of a defensive miscommunication to get huge open for a layup. In response, Hailey Van Lith tried a troublesome three-pointer in hopes of getting USA again forward, however that shot resulted in an airball and Azerbaijan possession.

Dearica Hamby led the way in which for the US with 7 factors on 5-8 taking pictures together with a team-high 5 rebounds, whereas Van Lith added 4 factors and a couple of assists, however made simply 3 of 10 discipline objectives.

Cierra Burdick completed with 4 factors, 4 rebounds, and a couple of assists, whereas Rhyne Howard — the #1 decide within the 2022 WNBA draft — scored only a single level on 1-5 taking pictures. Howard, who’s extra acquainted with 5×5 basketball, has struggled in each pool play video games up to now.

In the meantime, Tiffany Hayes was dominant for Azerbaijan, placing up 11 factors and seven rebounds. Dina Ulyanova added 6 factors within the win.

Picture by Ezra Shaw/Getty Photos

Down the stretch, USA Basketball 3×3 crew’s lack of expertise confirmed for the second consecutive recreation.

“We’re probably the most inexperienced crew right here,” Burdick instructed USA At present after Tuesday’s loss to Germany. “We obtained a whole lot of talent, a whole lot of expertise, however that doesn’t win 3×3 video games. That’s a major time instance proper there.”

USA 3×3 basketball continues tomorrow

With the loss, the US falls to final within the standings. The highest two groups robotically advance to the semi-finals, to be performed Monday, whereas the following 4 qualify for a play-in spherical with the intention to compete for the opposite two semi-final spots. So, so long as the US can get into the highest six within the standings by Saturday, they stand an opportunity.

A tough begin doesn’t imply that Staff USA’s medal hopes are over, nevertheless it actually wasn’t the beginning this system hoped for. The U.S. performs two of 5 remaining pool video games tomorrow, towards Australia within the morning and Spain within the afternoon.

The remaining schedule is as follows:

• Thursday, August 1st: vs. Australia, 7 a.m. & vs. Spain, 3:30 p.m. ET (pool play)
• Friday, August 2nd: vs. France, 7 a.m. vs. Canada, 12 p.m. ET (pool play)
• Saturday, August third: vs. China, 1:05 p.m. ET (pool play)
• Monday, August fifth: Semifinals, bronze and gold medal video games

Right here’s the place issues at present stand

Via two days of play, Canada leads the pack, whereas the U.S. is in eighth place:

1. Canada: 2-0 (Canada defeated China right this moment 21-11)
2. Spain: 2-0 (Spain beat France 17-12)
3. Australia: 1-1 (Australia beat Germany right this moment 21-19)
4. Germany: 1-1
5. Azerbaijan: 1-1 (Azerbaijan beat the US right this moment 20-17)
6. China: 1-1
7. France: 0-2
8. United States: 0-2