Team USA 3x3 in semifinals, medal games

After four days of doubleheaders and suffering its first Olympic loss Monday night, the USA 3x3 women’s basketball team has a chance to write history in the sport’s inaugural Olympic semifinals and medalgame matches on Wednesday.

Team USA (5-1) holds the No. 1 seed in Wednesday’s semifinals and will play Team France in Semifinal No. 1 at 4 a.m. for a spot in the 8:55 a.m. Gold Medal game. The loser of the semifinal will play in the Bronze Medal game scheduled for 7:45 a.m. against the loser of Semifinal No. 2 of thirdseeded China vs No. 2 seed the ROC. (5:10 a.m.).

“Gold is definitely the No. 1 priority, that’s what we came out here to do,” said Team USA’s Allisha Gray.

The sport of 3x3 basketball is one of five new sports added to the Olympics this summer. The U.S. earned the No. 1 seed after being the only team to remain unbeaten through its first five games in Tokyo through defeating France (17-10), Mongolia (21-9), Romania (22-11), ROC (20-16) and China (19-12).

However, its perfect record fell Tuesday night as No. 4 seed Japan upset Team USA, 20-18, in the final game of the opening round pool play.

After leading by as much as five with three and a half minutes remaining, the U.S. struggled to slow down Japan. Japan used a 6-1 run to claim its first lead in Tuesday’s game at the twominute mark. With 40 seconds left, the U.S. got within one point of Japan before a jumper by Japan’s Mai Yamamoto created a two-point lead nine seconds later. Team USA couldn’t capitalize on the game’s remaining seconds and suffered its first blemish in pool play.

“We knew they were going to be a tough team. We didn’t take them lightly,” Current Team USA and former UConn standout Stefanie Dolson said. “They’re a little bit quicker than us, they got off a few 2s, but for the most part I’d say it was more us. We made some mistakes that we shouldn’t be making in games, but they are a very good team.”

Dolson led the U.S. on Tuesday with seven points, along with three rebounds and two assists. In six pool play games, she is second on Team USA with 34 points and 26 rebounds. Kelsey Plum leads the U.S. with 41 points, while Gray leads with 29 rebounds.

“Stef is our go-to paint presence,” Plum said. “Dominating the paint is something that we focus on, getting the ball inside, and I think Stef has just done a tremendous job of not only that, but then defensively she is kinda like our anchor, right. She’s seeing everything as it’s happening, she’s talking to us if we’re switching, if we’re veering like what we’re doing over, under. She’s really been our leader defensively.”

With 10 minutes and the goal to reach 21 points, 3x3 games move fast and require just as much if not more defense than offense. Dolson said the increase in speed and constant pressure on defense has helped improve her 5-on-5 skills to the point where her Chicago Sky teammates notice her growth when she returns to the WNBA.

“With 3x3, it’s helped me with my quickness, it’s helped me with my ability to guard smaller players,” said Dolson, who is in her seventh season in the WNBA and fifth for the Sky. “Constantly doing that type of defense with 3x3 has helped immensely. … There is only four of us, so I get a chance to get the ball a lot and score and do things that I probably wouldn’t normally have been able to do on 5x5 teams. It helps with confidence, too, and it just kinda gets me going.”

Former UConn standout Katie Lou Samuleson was originally listed on Team USA’s roster heading into Tokyo. However, after contracting COVID-19 on July 17, just days before the team’s flight to Japan, she was pulled out of the competition.

The U.S. pulled up pool player Jackie Young from the Las Vegas Aces to replace Samuleson. Heading into the semifinals, Young has totaled 13 points and 17 rebounds.

“I think first and foremost if we can all put ourselves in her shoes, right? Can you imagine being on vacation and getting a call to ask to be part of the Olympics? I mean, that’s just, I think your mind spins a thousand different directions,” Plum said. “For her to come in and be so ready to play at this level and just learn on the go, continue to get better and just be a rock, that is super, super consistent, I just really respect that. That’s not easy to do.”

The sport’s first Olympic Gold medal is on the line Wednesday. With such a deep history already behind USA Basketball, Team USA is looking to make a statement as both the powerhouse in 5x5 women’s basketball and in 3x3.

“We’re in the semifinals and now it’s just time to get the job done,” said Young.