By KRISTIE RIEKEN
PARIS (AP) — Germany, Spain, the U.S. and Canada advanced to the semifinals in women’s 3×3 basketball at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
Germany and Spain moved into Monday’s semifinals after finishing in the top two spots at the end of pool play.
The defending champion U.S. team and Canada won play-in games Saturday night. The U.S. beat China 21-13, and Canada posted a 21-10 win over Australia.
Germany faces Canada in the next round, and Spain takes on the U.S.
Sonja Greinacher had five points to lead Germany to an 18-15 win over Spain on Saturday. Germany finished 6-1 in pool play.
“It is unbelievable to be honest,” Germany’s Marie Reichert said. “It is still crazy what we achieved, finishing the first round in the first spot. We did not imagine this. I think the chances of getting a medal are pretty high, so we are excited.”
Gracia Alonso scored five points for Spain, which went 4-3 in pool play.
Dearica Hamby had nine points and five rebounds to lead the U.S. over China. It was the team’s fifth straight victory after an 0-3 start to the tournament.
She went 3 for 3 on 2-pointers, and her last one closed it out with five seconds to play.
“We’re happy but obviously we’ve still got two more games that are more important,” Hamby said. “But we just keep getting better each game. This might have been our best offensive performance, fluidity and just like open baskets, the easiest shots we’ve gotten all tournament.”
Cierra Burdick reflected on the work it took to get to this point and the chance to help the U.S. repeat as gold medalists.
“This is why I started the journey,” she said. “This is why I put all the work in and why (Hailey Van Lith) and I have been working for the past three summers for this moment right here.”
It was the team’s second win over China on Saturday. The Americans beat the Chinese 14-12 earlier in the day to wrap up pool play.
Kacie Bosch scored nine points to give Canada the win over Australia and lift the team into the semifinals. She didn’t miss a shot in the game, making all four of her 1-point shots and two 2-pointers.
She was thrilled to have a big night Saturday after failing to score in two of the team’s previous three games.
“My team always has confidence in me, even when I don’t have confidence in myself,” she said. “So, I knew that they believed in me and I just wasn’t thinking about it and I let it fly.”
Anneli Maley had five points and five rebounds for Australia in the loss. She was emotional after the team was eliminated and fought back tears as she spoke to reporters.
“Professional sports is really hard, especially at this level,” she said. “I’m really proud of the group that we have. I’m really proud of the way that we played. I think we showed Australia and everyone back home the heart and the fight that we have.”
France and Azerbaijan were eliminated from the tournament before the play-in games after finishing in the bottom two spots in pool play.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
