Team USA settled for bronze
The United States failed to go back-to-back in the women's 3x3 basketball tournament, and one of the star players is blaming the referees.
The Americans dropped their semifinal matchup against Spain, who eventually lost to Germany in the gold medal game; the USA earned bronze by defeating Canada.
But gold for America in basketball is almost a given: In normal basketball, the men have won 16 golds in 20 appearances, while the women are 9-for-12 (one silver, one bronze).
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Hailey van Lith of Team USA competes in the women's 3x3 basketball bronze medal game against Canada on Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
That was not the case here. While the women earned gold when the 3x3 tournament debuted in Tokyo in 2021, they fell short this year.
TCU's Hailey Van Lith, who transferred to the Horned Frogs after starring for LSU this past season, took her shot after dropping eight points in the semifinal.
"This was 1,000% BS. Those refs wanted the U.S. to lose," she said after the game. "They were flopping left and right. They are not that good. Great job, ladies, we know who should have won."
Her teammate, Cierra Burdick, went a different route.
Team USA's Dearica Hamby, left, Cierra Burdick, Hailey Van Lith and Rhyne Howard celebrate their bronze medal in women's 3x3 basketball on Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris. (Daniela Porcelli/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
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"Not the medal we wanted, obviously, but I don't want to take away from the moment," Burdick said after the bronze medal match. "A lot of gratitude, a lot of blood, sweat and tears were invested into this. That's so cliché, but it's so true."
Van Lith's comments, though, echoed what ESPN's Brian Windhorst recently said.
"FIBA doesn’t really want the USA to do good at three-on-three basketball. They really want that to be for countries that can’t field five-on-five teams," Windhorst said.
"So, they do all these things, like they have all these different layers and layers of things you have to do to qualify. … The only way you can play is if you play in, like, 15 qualifying events."
Hailey Van Lith of Team USA is shown during the match against Germany at the Paris Olympic Games on July 30, 2024. (Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
The men's 3x3 team failed to qualify out of group play, going 2-5 in their seven contests.
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