PARIS, France — After winning the gold medal in Tokyo, a U.S. 3x3 basketball squad that includes Cashmere's own Hailey Van Lith has surprisingly lost each of its first two games at the Paris Olympics.
Van Lith and Team USA lost to Germany 17-13 in its Olympic opener on Tuesday. A day later, Team USA lost a tight game against Azerbaijan 20-17. After a lay-up with six seconds left gave Azerbaijan a one-point lead, Van Lith missed a deep shot that would have won the game for the Americans.
In the Tokyo Olympics, a Team USA that included former University of Washington star Kelsey Plum went 8-1 and eventually brought home a gold medal.
Fans in the U.S. who are used to the country dominating basketball competition at the Olympics are likely surprised by the rocky start in 3x3 basketball. The women's team isn't alone in its struggles, as the men's 3x3 squad lost 22-14 on Tuesday to Serbia.
As opposed to standard 5x5 basketball where countries tend to simply send their best talent to the Olympics, cohesion and different skills are valuable in 3x3 competition. The game is much faster and only played on a half of the standard basketball court. It is also played outside
The U.S. team did have to make a substitution to its original Paris Olympics roster, as Pacific Northwest product Cameron Brink suffered a knee injury in a professional game that made her unavailable for the group. She was replaced by Dearica Hamby, who is a teammate of Brink's with the Women's National Basketball Association's (WNBA) Los Angeles Sparks.
Van Lith and the women's 3x3 U.S. team will next play on Thursday morning at 4 a.m. PT against Australia.