PARIS – Canada’s record fell to 3-3 in Olympic women’s 3×3 basketball play following a pair of overtime losses to the United States and Spain on Friday.
The Canadians were undone by a pair of buzzer-beater shots in both games.
In the opener, Rhyne Howard, who plays for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, scored a two-pointer as time expired in OT to give the U.S. (3-3) an 18-17 win.
Canada scored first in OT on a short shot by Edmonton’s Katherine Plouffe before Howard, who was 0 for 5 from long range in regulation, drained the winning basket.
“Good step-back. She got some space,” Plouffe said of the winning shot.
She added the loss did nothing to shake Canada’s confidence.
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“They are all good teams here, and we do not expect to come out (of the group stage) 7-0,” Plouffe said.
“We know we are a solid team, and everyone is scared to play us.”
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But Canada was dealt further heartbreak in the day’s final game when Spain’s Sandra Ygueravide drained a two-pointer at the buzzer in a 22-20 OT win over Canada.
Michelle Plouffe, Katherine’s twin sister, scored a game-high 11 points in the loss.
She made a basket followed by a free throw to put Canada up 19-18 with 31 seconds remaining in regulation.
But Ygueravide made a two-pointer seconds later to give Spain the lead. Plouffe forced overtime when she drove for a layup to tie it at 20-20 with 15 seconds left.
Ygueravide made four two-pointers in a game where Spain was 6 of 12 from beyond the arc.
“They’re a seasoned team. We’ve been battling with them for years, so we knew that it was going to be a battle, and I’m really proud of our efforts,” said Paige Crozon, of Lethbridge, Alta., who had three points for Canada.
“I think we could have cleaned up some of the few of their offensive rebounds, but I think defensively, we were so strong, and the battle we were getting, it was really physical. We were getting hit down low and we unfortunately weren’t getting the calls tonight, but we’re able to be resilient and battle back.”
Spain improved to 4-2 and now sits second behind Germany (5-1) in the preliminary pool.
Canada, tied for fifth in the eight-team competition, finishes pool play on Saturday against Azerbaijan (2-4).
The top two teams in the pool advance to the semifinals, while the next four participate in play-in games on Saturday.
The tournament wraps up Monday with the semifinals and medal games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2024.
© 2024 The Canadian Press