Canada beats Australia in play-in to reach 3×3 semifinal at Paris 2024
Team Canada will have another chance to make history as they have guaranteed themselves a shot at a medal in 3×3 women’s basketball.
As Canada’s first entry into the sport that was introduced to the Olympic program at Tokyo 2020, the women have earned a spot in the semifinals after beating Australia in the play-in round, 21-11.
The clinching bucket came from the sharpshooter Paige Crozon, whose two-point shot from the wing sealed the victory at the 2:24 mark for Canada.
“It’s been such an up and down journey for us,” said Kacie Bosch. “All of the games are so tough… we had some really tough, close ones, but our team never gives up on each other.”
Canada, coming off of two overtime losses on Friday to the U.S. and Spain, had to beat Azerbaijan earlier in the day to guarantee a spot in the play-in.
Azerbaijan gave Canada all they could handle. In a back-and-forth affair, no side saw the lead grow larger than two points until a Crozon bucket made it 17-14 Canada with 2:33 remaining.
Michelle Plouffe then nailed a two from the top of the key with 1:27 left to bring Canada within one possession of victory, but Azerbaijan would not go away.
Two buckets from Tiffany Hayes tied the game at 19 with 46 seconds left.
That’s when Michelle Plouffe, the No.-1 ranked player on the 3×3 circuit, took matters into her own hands, driving left into the body of her defender and scoring the go-ahead bucket with 15 seconds left.
Hayes had one last look for the win, but it did not go down.
Canada survived, winning 21-19.
In the play-in, Canada faced off against Australia – the team they got their first win of the Olympics against earlier in the week. The two teams finished with an identical 4-3 record, but Canada represented a tough matchup for the Aussies due to their size.
Yet it was Bosch, the smallest player on the court, who led the team in scoring in what was her best game of the tournament. Bosch had been struggling to find her range all throughout the pool round, but she hit two huge two-pointers to push the lead to 11-4.
“My team always has confidence in me even when I don’t have confidence in myself,” said Bosch who went a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. “I knew that they believed in me and I just wasn’t thinking about it, and I let it fly.”
Canada’s defensive intensity and discipline on offence showed how badly they wanted the semifinal berth. They forced Australia into 10 turnovers and 30.4% shooting.
No play epitomized Canada’s heart than Bosch, who took an elbow from Anneli Maley on a drive, and began to bleed from a cut above her eye.
Maley was called for an offensive foul, and Bosch returned to the game as soon as she was patched up by medical staff.
At that point, Canada had full control of the game, and a Crozon two-point shot sealed the win.
“It’s such an emotional victory, I think to chase everything wholeheartedly makes you feel so vulnerable,” said Crozon. “We have had such an up-and-down tournament, so to play in the quarterfinals… just made me so proud of our team and effort.”
Canada will face off in the semifinal against Germany at 12:30 p.m. EST / 6:30 p.m. local on Monday.
