Canada splits 3×3 matchups with Germany and France, moves to 3-1
Through four match-ups, Canada is looking like a surefire medal contender after taking down France 13-9 on Thursday in women’s 3×3 basketball.
Playing in their second game of the day following a morning loss to Germany, Team Canada responded with a big win in front of a loud opposing crowd at La Concorde 1.
It’s Canada’s third win of the women’s 3×3 tournament, tied for the most with Australia and Germany. They currently sit in second place behind Australia due to point differential.
READ: Team Canada takes down China for second straight 3×3 basketball win
France was perhaps the most physical matchup of the tournament, but early on it was the Canadians that set the tone. France missed their first seven shots as Canada overwhelmed them with size, and jumped out to a 5-0 lead thanks to four points from Katherine Plouffe.
However, once France got on the board, the home-court advantage kicked in, giving France some much-needed momentum. 5 foot 5 inch guard Hortense Limouzin kept France close with two tough finishes at the rim, cutting the deficit to two points, 8-6, with 2:14 remaining.
“The French crowd was absolutely bananas in the best possible way,” said Kacie Bosch.
It was Bosch that made two crucial plays that helped firmly swing the momentum in Canada’s favour.
With two minutes remaining, France regained possession with an opportunity to tie or get within one point, but Bosch quickly broke up the action, stripping the ball from Marie Eve Paget to regain the ball. On the ensuing Canada possession, she drove underneath the basket, pivoted to try and find an angle, and flipped up a difficult lay-up to make it 9-6.
“I knew the (shot) clock was winding down, I was hoping to get a foul called,” said Bosch. “I practiced that reverse a few times and I was like ‘I’m going to toss it up and hope for the best.'”
Then with less than a minute remaining, Paige Crozon iced the game with a driving lay-up, converting on both the basket and two free throws to make it 13-7 Canada.
Defence and physicality were the key, holding France to 29% shooting from the field.
Canada will hope to have better shooting numbers as the tournament progresses – they only made four of their nine free-throw attempts, and failed to make single two-point shot.
“That was like the top energy in any 3×3 game,” said Katherine Plouffe following the win. “Even though it was for France we take that (in) too, and it’s fun to silence the crowd.”
Earlier in the day, Canada fell to Germany for their first loss of Paris 2024. The Germans jumped out to an 6-0 lead as Canada initially struggled to find their shot.
They responded well, taking a 10-9 lead at the 3:53 mark following a Michelle Plouffe steal and made two, but the German defence proved to be too tough. In the end, no team hit the target score of 21. The time expired with the Germans ahead 19-15, taking the win.
The Plouffe sisters had five points each in the loss. Canada shot just 41% from the field.
The Canadians will play twice on Friday as well, with the first matchup coming against a struggling U.S. squad at noon ET, and then at 3 p.m. ET against Spain.