USA Women's Basketball Olympic Games 3x3 Recaps

Burdick Helps USA 3x3 Team Claim Olympic Bronze (8/5/24)

PARIS -- The United States 3x3 Women's Basketball Team won for the sixth time in its past seven contests, defeating Canada, 16-13, and claiming a bronze medal at the Olympic Games on Monday at Place de la Concorde.

University of Tennessee alum Cierra Burdick tallied three points and three rebounds, netting USA's final two points at the free throw line to put the game out of reach. She became the 14th Lady Vol basketball player to earn an Olympic medal (18th total medal), and the first to secure one while playing 3x3 basketball.

For the 2015 UT graduate and Torchbearer Award winner, it marked her fifth medal while representing USA Basketball. She previously won gold in 2009 at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in the traditional five-on-five game and claimed gold at the 2014 and 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cups and the 2023 Pan American Games

The United States, which rallied from an 0-3 start to earn a spot in the medal round, used a balanced attack in its French finale, with Hailey Van Lith, Rhyne Howard and Dearica Hamby joining Burdick on the box score with six, four and three points, respectively. The Americans took advantage of eight fouls by the Canadians, hitting five of seven free throw attempts, including their last three points of the day.

USA faced an uphill battle from the start, as Canada drained a two-point shot to make it 2-0 and then built a 7-3 lead by the 6:20 mark. A Burdick bucket cut the gap to 8-7 with 4:40 remaining, and then Hamby evened it at eight apiece with 4:28 left on the clock. The Americans knotted it up again at nine before a 3-0 Canadian run put the opposing trio up 12-9 with 3:05 to go.

The Americans didn't stay down long, though, rallying to put together their own three-point spree to tie it up at 12 with 1:59 reading on the board. After Canada responded to make it 13-12, the USA closed out the match-up with four straight points. A Hamby and-one gave her side a 14-13 lead with 1:17 to go, and Burdick drew fouls and dropped in free throws at the 39-second and seven-second marks, respectively, to clinch the decision.

In the semifinal round earlier in the day, USA built a five-point lead before falling by two in overtime to Spain, 18-16. Eleven personal fouls by the Americans led to six decisive points at the free throw line by the Spaniards.

With the United States leading 4-3 on a Hamby bucket via a pass from Burdick, Spain responded with a point before a 5-0 USA spree resulted in a 9-4 American advantage at the 6:04 mark. The opponents would fight back, however, taking advantage at the charity stripe due to five USA fouls to even the score at 13 with 2:32 to play.

The United States wrestled the lead back at 14-13 and 15-14 on Van Lith buckets with 2:21 and 1:04 left, and Howard's basket with 13 seconds left gave her team a 16-15 lead to put pressure on Spain. Sandra Ygueravide, though, knotted it up at 16 with five ticks left and forced overtime.

Ygueravide, who scored her squad's last two points in regulation, was the difference in extra time. First, she netted a one-point shot to provide Spain a 17-16 lead. She then drew a foul and converted a try at the free throw line to give her team the victory as the first unit to tally two points in the extra frame.

Boxscore vs. Spain | Boxscore vs. Canada

Burdick, USA Advance To Olympic 3x3 Semifinals (8/3/24)

The United States 3x3 Women's Basketball Team won twice on Saturday at Place de la Concorde, running its streak of victories to five straight and advancing to Monday's semifinal round at the Olympic Games.

The Americans (5-3) cruised past China (2-6) in a knockout-round game, 21-13, tallying their most points of the tournament. USA also defeated China by a 14-12 count earlier in the day in the final contest of pool play to earn the No. 3 overall seed entering knockout play.

The U.S. will face No. 2 seed Spain (4-3) at 11:30 a.m. ET on Monday in one semifinal contest. No. 1 seed Germany (6-1) will face No. 4 seed Canada (5-3) in the other semifinal game. The winners will play for the gold medal Monday at 4 p.m. ET, while the two losing teams will face off for bronze at 3 p.m. ET.

University of Tennessee alum Cierra Burdick and USA teammate Dearica Hamby combined for 14 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in the second triumph of the day over China, accumulating impressive player value metrics of 10.1 and 11.6, respectively. Burdick worked the glass for a tourney-high eight rebounds, scored five points and dished out two assists, while Hamby totaled nine points, five boards and a pair of dimes.

The United States bounced to a 2-0 start before China wrestled back leads of 3-2 and 4-3. Each time the Chinese surged Burdick countered with buckets, adding a free throw and then a layup to even the score at 3-3 and then 4-4 with 7:16 to go.

A Burdick backdoor cut for a layup via a pass from Hailey Van Lith provided the Americans their then-largest lead at 11-6 with 5:53 remaining in the contest. Burdick followed with two more buckets, hitting a layup and then a jumper from the free throw line to keep her side ahead by four, 13-9, with 3:50 remaining.

With USA leading 17-13, Burdick found Hamby for a score with 1:33 left on the clock to give their squad a five-point lead. A Rhyne Howard runner with 10 seconds left and a two-point shot from Hamby with five ticks on the clock enabled the Americans to hit 21 and call game.

In the first meeting on Saturday, USA fell behind early before seizing control and hanging on for a victory that earned it the No. 3 seed in the knockout round. Burdick contributed three rebounds, a point and an assist in the initial win over China, while Van Lith (6 pts.) and Hamby (4 pts., 5 rebs.) paced the team statistically.

After China grabbed early advantages of 1-0, 2-1 and 4-3, a Burdick bucket boosted the USA on top for the first time, 5-4, at the 6:31 mark. The Americans scored five straight points during that stretch to build an 8-4 edge with 4:17 to go and would again lead by four, at 12-8 and 14-10, by the 2:56 and 1:31 marks, respectively.

China tallied twice in the final minute and a half, getting a score with 1:25 on the clock and the second one with just 14 seconds to go. After a missed shot attempt by USA on its next possession, China grabbed a rebound and had a last-second two-point attempt. Mingling Chen's shot was off the mark, though, and Hamby was in position to grab the rebound and preserve the win.

Boxscore 1 vs. China | Boxscore 2 vs. China

Burdick, USA Run Win Streak To Three In Olympic 3x3 Play (8/2/24)

The United States 3x3 Women's Basketball Team won a pair of contests on Friday at Place de la Concorde and ran its winning streak to three games after opening the Olympic Games with three consecutive narrow losses.

The Americans (3-3) capped day four's proceedings with a thrilling 18-17 overtime triumph over Canada (3-2) to improve to 3-3 in preliminary round play. Earlier in the day, USA also claimed a one-point victory, edging France (1-4), 14-13. The victories helped assure a berth for the U.S. in Saturday's play-in round.

University of Tennessee alum Cierra Burdick continued to be a force on the boards during the Paris Games, hauling down five rebounds and adding three points and an assist to card her team's highest player value at 6.8. Rhyne Howard and Hailey Van Lith tallied seven and five points, respectively, to lead the U.S.

Burdick hit the first bucket, staking her team to a 1-0 lead on a pull-up jumper. Canada, though, reeled off four straight points to build a 4-1 lead by the 8:06 mark before USA scored five in a row to seize a 6-4 advantage with 6:56 remaining. The Canadians evened it up with a two-point shot on the next possession and stayed close until taking the lead, 10-9, with 3:46 on the clock.

A jumper near the free throw line by Burdick barely beat the shot clock and knotted the score at 10 at the 3:33 mark. Though the USA surged ahead at 11-10, Canada struck back and built three-point leads of 15-12 and 16-13 with 1:58 and 1:05 left, respectively, leaving the Americans with an uphill climb.

As it turned out, USA was up for the challenge, as a layup by Howard and a two-pointer from Van Lith knotted the score at 16 and sent the proceedings into overtime. With the first team to score two points in the extra period declared the winner, Canada put the pressure on by tallying a one-point field goal on its first possession. With the shot clock running down and seemingly nowhere to go, Howard launched a shot from beyond the arc that found the bottom of the net and delivered a crucial victory to the Americans. Howard had been 0-for-5 in her previous two-point attempts in the contest.

In USA's first game of the day, the Americans used a balanced attack to fend off a determined French squad playing in front of its home fans to secure a 14-13 triumph. Burdick, Van Lith and Dearica Hamby each tallied four points, and the LVFL pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.

Burdick's pass to Hamby led to an early 3-1 lead for their team, but France would flip the script and secure a 7-5 advantage by the 5:58 mark. Burdick, though, halted a 3-0 run by the French, grabbing an offensive rebound and sticking it back to cut the gap to 7-6.

Another Burdick putback kept USA close at 8-7 with 3:30 remaining. She then propelled her squad back into the lead twice at 9-8 and 10-9 at the 2:48 and 2:19 marks, respectively, with a layup and her third rebound bucket of the contest. Her work on the boards helped her unit to a 20-9 advantage on the glass vs. the host country.

France would not go away, however, tying the contest at 13 with 20 seconds to go on a Marie-Eve Paget two-point shot. A Hamby layup with three seconds remaining, however, lifted the Americans to their second straight victory.

USA will return to action on Saturday, facing China at 1:05 p.m. ET to close out preliminary action. Play-in contests for the medal rounds will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET, with the No. 4 and 5 seeds and No. 3 and 6 seeds squaring off to face the No. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively. The top two squads earned byes into the semifinal round.

Boxscore vs. Canada | Boxscore vs. France

Burdick, USA Claim First Win In Olympic 3x3 Action (8/1/24)

The United States 3x3 Women's Basketball Team split a pair of games on Thursday at Place de la Concorde, finally breaking into the win column in their fourth contest of Pool A play.

After suffering a 17-15 defeat at the hands of Australia earlier in the day, USA captured a critical victory over Spain, 17-11, to close out the third day of competition. The Americans stand 1-3 in pool action and have three preliminary-round games remaining on the schedule to try and earn an opportunity for extended competition in Paris.

Against Spain, the United States got off to a fast start and maintained control throughout the match-up. They did so as NBA legend and USA Men's Basketball Olympic Team standout LeBron James watched from the courtside seating area.

After leading 4-1 during the early going, the Americans traded baskets with the opposition before Spain whittled the gap to 7-6. UT alum Cierra Burdick halted a 3-0 burst by the Spaniards and jump-started USA on a 4-0 spree of its own with a free throw to make it 8-6. Three straight points by Hailey Van Lith helped the Americans build an 11-6 advantage.

With Spain trimming the gap to three, 14-11, Burdick scored on a putback and added a free throw on the next possession to provide USA a 16-11 cushion. Burdick's teammate Dearica Hamby added a jumper to account for the final score.

Earlier in the day, the United States grabbed a quick 2-0 lead over Australia, but it played from behind the rest of the way in falling by two, 17-15.

USA shot 50 percent from the field to the Aussies' 31 percent, but Australia tallied six free throws on seven attempts while the Americans didn't earn a single charity try in the contest. That disparity proved to be the difference.

Rhyne Howard led the U.S. side with eight points and four rebounds, while Hamby contributed four points and six boards. Her bucket with five seconds remaining pulled her team to within one, 16-15, but Australia drew a foul and hit a free throw to account for the final count. Burdick finished with four rebounds, a point and a blocked shot, hitting a layup at the 3:55 mark to trim the deficit to one, 11-10.

The Americans will return to action on Friday, playing twice for the second day in a row. They'll meet France first at 7 a.m. ET and then play Canada at noon.

Boxscore vs. Spain | Boxscore vs. Australia

USA Drops Olympic 3x3 Contest To Azerbaijan (7/31/24)

The United States 3x3 Women's Basketball Team dropped its second straight contest in Pool A play, coming out on the short end against Azerbaijan, 20-17, on Wednesday at Place de la Concorde.

WNBA standout Tiffany Hayes of the Las Vegas Aces scored 11 of Azerbaijan's points and tallied seven rebounds and three blocks to lead her team to victory. Her squad jumped out to a 2-0 lead and kept the pressure on the American side throughout.

Tennessee alum Cierra Burdick gave a good account of herself, finishing with four points, four rebounds and two assists. She was tops for USA (0-2) in player value (7.7) and shooting efficiency (.67), connecting on four of her six shot attempts. Dearica Hamby paced the Americans with seven points and five rebounds, while Hailey Van Lith added five points.

After Azerbaijan grabbed a 3-1 lead at the 9:07 mark, Burdick scored on a layup to cut the gap to one. She did the same with a bucket to trim the gap to 5-4 and then led the charge, as USA bounced back from a 7-4 deficit. Her reverse layup trimmed the gap to one, 8-7, with 7:01 remaining, and she then scored on another layup with 6:10 on the clock to knot the score at 8-8.

Burdick had a hand in the Americans grabbing their first lead, snaring a defensive rebound and finding Van Lith free off a screen for a layup that pushed USA ahead, 10-9, with 5:04 to go. She later blocked a shot to give her squad the ball, and she grabbed an offensive rebound and quickly fed Hamby with a nifty no-look pass for a bucket that equaled the score at 13 with 2:28 left.

A Burdick defensive board led to a USA possession and Hamby layup, and Hamby's free throw that followed pushed USA's run to five straight points for a game-best 15-13 lead with 2:11 remaining. Azerbaijan responded with four scores in a row to seize a 17-15 advantage at the 1:33 mark. Back-to-back buckets by Hamby, though, evened the score before Hayes put back her own miss to give her team an 18-17 lead with six seconds remaining. The USA was unable to convert, and its foul on the defensive end resulted in a pair of free throws with 0.4 remaining and an eventual three-point setback.

The Americans will return to action on Thursday, playing twice. They'll meet Australia first at 7 a.m. ET and then play Spain at 3:30 p.m.

Box Score vs. Azerbaijan

USA Falls To Germany In Olympics 3x3 Opener (7/30/24)

The United States 3x3 Women's Basketball Team fell in its Pool A opening game on Tuesday, dropping a 17-13 decision to Germany at Place de la Concorde.

Tennessee alum Cierra Burdick contributed a game-high four assists along with two points and a rebound, but Germany overcame an early 5-0 deficit to claim victory. The 2015 UT graduate finished with a player value of 5.8 and ranked second to USA leading scorer Hailey Van Lith, who tossed in six points and had a 7.5 player value for her squad.

The Americans looked sharp in the early going, with Burdick's passing and screening action helping her side excel and a bucket by the LVFL lifting the score to 4-0 with 8:22 to go in the 10-minute contest. The Germans fought back, though, reeling off six straight points and seizing a one-point lead by the 5:48 mark. A one-point bucket and then a two-point long-range shot from Van Lith tied the affair at six and later gave her team its final edge of the match at 8-7 with 5:38 remaining.

A 4-0 Germany run put USA in an 11-8 hole with 3:40 left on the clock, but the Americans responded with a 3-0 burst to even the count at 11 at the 3:11 mark. The Germans, however, were too much to match the rest of the way, outscoring USA, 6-2, to close out the upset win, with Burdick adding her team's final point with three seconds remaining.

Box Score vs. Germany

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