May 26-30, 2021 • Graz, Austria

The USA finished 6-0 at the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament from May 26-30 in Graz, Austria, and, most importantly, qualified the USA to compete in the inaugural Olympic 3x3 competition.  

In the USA’s first game against Indonesia on May 27, the Americans cruised to a 21-7 win when Allisha Gray capped the contest with a made free throw with 4:03 left on the clock. Stefanie Dolson and Gray combined to help the USA get out to a 7-0 lead as the USA sank six 2-pointers against Indonesia. Dolson finished with eight points, Gray had seven and Kelsey Plum added four.

Against France in its second game, the USA faced FIBA’s No. 1. ranked women’s federation (the USA women were No. 12), and fought its way to a 21-17 victory that included five tied scores and three lead changes. The USA trailed 5-1 but rode a 9-3 run to make it 10-8 in the USA’s favor at 5:51. A 2 gave France the lead back, but the USA pushed ahead to 16-14 with points from Gray, Katie Lou Samuelson and Dolson. After a France score, Gray drove to the basket and Samuelson sank a 2-pointer to put the USA up 19-15. France threatened at 19-17, but Plum closed out the win with a driving basket at 40.0 and the free throw to end the game.

In its final day of preliminary games on May 29, the USA started with a 21-12 win over Germany. The USA led 6-2, but with her third 2-pointer to start the game, Germany’s Satou Sabally, the No. pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft and a Dallas Wings teammate of USA guard Gray, pulled her team even at 6-6 at 6:34. A free throw from Samuelson and 2 from Gray gave the USA a 9-6 advantage, but Germany closed the margin to 10-9 at 5:11. Samuelson and Dolson added points to make it 12-9, and that was the start of a 9-3 USA run to close the game. Plum scored all seven of her points among the USA’s last nine scores, including the game-winning free throw with 54.5 seconds on the clock to seal the victory. Samuelson added six points, Gray had five and Dolson had three.

The USA next secured a 22-5 win over Uruguay that saw Dolson, Gray and Samuelson each score six points and Plum add four. The USA jumped ahead 7-0 and never looked back. By the time Dolson made a 2 at 5:41, all four U.S. team members had made a 2-pointer, and the USA led 14-3. The USA would make six 2s in the game, including Gray’s final 2, which gave the USA the 22-5 win with 3:05 on the clock.

Entering the quarterfinals as No. 1 seed, the USA took on Belarus and earned a 21-10 win. It took a minute for either team to get going, but the USA built a 6-1 lead at the first media timeout at 6:26. Unlike previous games, the USA scored by 1s only until the 3:35 mark. Samuelson, who finished with five points, made a 2 to bring the score to 14-6. Gray had four of her six points in the final few minutes, alternating scores with Plum, who made her second 2 to end the game at 21-10 with 1:41 on the clock. Plum finished with seven points, Gray had six and Dolson had three.

Against Spain in the semifinal, the USA got out to a 6-2 lead, but with a 2-pointer at 6:30 Spain pulled within one point, 7-6. The USA immediately responded, and Dolson, Plum and Gray added points to push the Americans in front 13-6. From there Spain would get no closer than four points, 14-10 at 2:34. To cap the win, Plum dished to Dolson for a score inside that made it 21-13 with 21.2 seconds on the clock. Dolson and Gray each finished with seven points, Plum had four and Samuelson scored all three of her points from the line. The USA only gave up two 2s to Spain in the game.

The USA and France, which won the other semifinal, as well as Japan, which was the winner of the third-place game, earned historic Olympic berths.

The U.S. offense was balanced overall. Gray led with a total of 39 points (6.5 ppg.), Dolson totalled 34 (5.7 ppg.), Plum recorded 32 points (5.3 ppg.) and Samuelson had 22 (3.7 ppg.) – averaging a total of 21.2 ppg. as a team.

Plum was named to the all-tournament team, where she was joined on the three-member team by Migna Touré of France and Japan's Stephanie Mawuli, who also was MVP.

2021 USA 3x3 WOMEN'S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TEAM ROSTER

2021 USA 3x3 WOMEN'S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING CUMULATIVE STATISTICS

July 24-28, 2021 • Tokyo, Japan

The U.S. team of Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young, led by coach Kara Lawson, made history and won the first Olympic 3x3 gold medal with an 8-1 record in Tokyo.

In its first game against France on July 24, with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and French president Emmanuel Macron in attendance, the went on a 4-1 run before France scored three points to pull to within one point, 9-8. From there, a 5-0 spurt gave the USA a 14-8 lead, and the USA finished off the game for the 17-10 win. Dolson had seven points, and Plum added six points.  

In its second game on July 24 the USA led against Mongolia 11-1 cruised in for the 21-9 win that ended with a score from Dolson with 3:00 minutes on the clock. Gray had nine points, Plum had six points, and Dolson added five points and seven rebounds.

On July 25 against Romania, with the USA holding a 7-6 edge, Plum sunk a 2-pointer with 6:47 on the clock to spark a 6-1 run that ended with a field goal by Dolson that put the USA up 13-7. The U.S. continued to pull away from there, and with 2:38 to play, Plum sealed the game with a 2-pointer to give the U.S. a 22-11 victory. Plum scored 12 points, and Dolson had six points.

Against Russian Olympic Committee on July 25, the USA trailed 5-2 before Plum and Gray combined for four straight points to give the USA a 7-5 lead. ROC answered back, and the USA fell behind 10-7. Gray tied the game 10-10 at 3:44, but the USA was down 14-11 at 2:55. Dolson was fouled at 2:47, and with ROC over the limit, Dolson made both free throws to pull the USA within one point, 14-13. After an ROC turnover, Gray netted a 2-pointer, followed by a Plum drive, and the USA led 16-14. ROC scored at 1:38 to make it 16-15, but the USA added  a point from each athlete and gave up just one more to ROC to bring the game to its 20-16 final as time expired. Gray led the USA with eight points.

The USA kicked off day three on July 26 versus Italy. With the USA holding a 7-6 lead midway through, Dolson scored six straight points to put the Americans in front 13-10. Italy made its second straight 2-pointer to close within one point, 13-12. Plum made it 15-13 with under a minute to play, and neither team was able to connect from the field from there. At 18.7 seconds and with Italy over the foul limit, Gray made two free throws for the 17-13 win.

The USA’s closest contest was its game against China on July 26, which was tied nine times, including at 17-17 when Dolson scored at 1:33 to push the U.S. ahead 18-17. China evened the score 18-18, but Gray countered at 48 seconds  to lift the U.S. ahead 19-18. China tied the score at 19-all at 41, and Plum ended the affair with a game-winning 2-pointer with 34 seconds left on the clock. Plum scored 10 points, and Gray added five points, five rebounds and three blocked shots. The USA outrebounded China 18-9.

On July 27, with its No. 1 seed into the semifinals already secured, the USA lost against Japan 20-18. The USA committed its seventh foul at 2:37 and Japan made both free throws to cut the USA lead to 14-13. After a score from each side, Japan made a 2 to go ahead 16-15 at 2:01. Dolson scored twice to put the USA ahead 17-16, but Japan scored a layup and another 2 to lead 19-17 at 1:03. Gray scored the USA’s final basket at 40 seconds to pull within one 19-18, but Japan led 20-18 with 31 seconds to go. In the final 30 seconds, the USA missed two attempts and had a turnover, and Japan earned the win. Dolson scored seven, and Gray had five.

On July 28, the USA held off France for an 18-16 semifinal win. The U.S. was up by four points three times, including 12-8 at 4:12. France tied it at 16-all at 1:07, but with 34 ticks left, France committed its seventh foul, and Gray made a free throw to push the USA ahead 17-16. Plum scored the USA's final point from the line with five seconds left, and France's final shot was off the mark. Gray and Plum had six points apiece.

The USA earned the first gold medal in Olympic 3x3 history by defeating Russian Olympic Committee 18-15 on July 28. The USA led 6-1 early, and with the USA ahead 9-5, the USA scored a pair of free throws and a 1-pointer to go up 12-5 at 3:53. ROC cut the lead to 12-9 but was whistled for its ninth foul at 3:07, and Young sunk both free throws to put the USA up 14-9 lead. ROC came within three points four more times, including the final 18-15 score, but the USA proved too strong for the ROC to overcome. Plum had five points, and Gray notched four points.

China (7-3) beat France (5-5) for the bronze medal. 

2021 U.S. OLYMPIC 3x3 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM ROSTER

2021 U.S. OLYMPIC 3x3 WOMEN'S CUMULATIVE STATISTICS

May 26-30, 2021 • Graz, Austria

In the inaugural FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament from May 26-30 in Graz, Austria, the USA came up short and saw its dream of qualifying for the inaugural Olympic 3x3 competition dashed with a 21-16 loss. The USA finished 3-2 and in sixth place.

The USA opened play with an exciting, 21-20, come-from-behind win over Lithuania. The USA got five defensive stops in the final minutes, including with 20 seconds left, when Joey King stole the ball, dribbled to behind the arc and made a 2-pointer to claim the USA comeback win with 16 seconds remaining on the clock.

Early on, the USA led 7-3 before Lithuania reeled off an 8-0 run to go ahead 11-7 at 5:32. Over the next three minutes, Kareem Maddox scored six of his eight points to help the USA pull within one point, 17-16, at 2:25. Lithuania quickly scored three points to lead 20-16 and looked to be on the verge of an important win. King scored to make it 20-17, and a timeout was called. After the break, Maddox drove the lane for a dunk, followed by King who turned the corner for a lay-in, and it was 20-19, with the USA down by one point and 28 seconds left. That is when King got the USA’s biggest defensive stop of the game, followed by the 2-pointer for the win.

After its hard-fought win against Lithuania, the USA led from start to finish in a 21-3 win over South Korea that saw King score seven, Maddox added six, Dominique Jones added five and Robbie Hummel scored three points. The USA made seven 2-pointers overall while giving up just three made baskets.

The USA topped Kazakhstan and fell to Belgium to close out pool play on May 29, and in spite of the loss, emerged as Pool B’s No. 1 seed.  

What started out as a game the USA had in hand saw Kazakhstan come back from 20-13 to make it 20-19 before the USA sealed the 22-19 win with a 2-pointer from Hummel at 1:08. The USA was ahead 20-13 at 3:30 before Kazakhstan started to climb back, making six 2-pointers overall. The USA struggled to make shots down the stretch as it looked for a score from deep to earn a 22-point win, but Jones dished to Hummel for a 2-pointer at 1:08 to complete the 22-19 U.S. win. Hummel and King each had seven points, Maddox had five and Jones had three.

The USA entered the game against Belgium knowing it would need to score 16 points to secure its advancement to the quarterfinals, and it did just that in a tight loss to Belgium that featured 11 tied scores. A made 2-pointer gave Belgium a 12-11 edge at 2:58, but the USA responded with scores from Jones, King and Maddox to go ahead 14-12. Belgium put together two 2s and swung back in front 16-14. King pulled the USA back to 16-16, but Belgium again had an answer and made two more 2s to earn the win 20-16 as time ran out.

Finishing preliminary play in a three-way tie with Belgium and Lithuania (3-1) in Pool B, the USA scored the 16 points it needed against Belgium to break the tie in its favor.

In the quarterfinals, Netherlands made four 2-pointers in the last 3:38, accounting for eight of its final 11 points to hold off the USA. Four times the USA led, including 6-5 at 6:39. Netherlands evened the score, 6-6, at 6:29, and proceeded to build a 12-8 lead at 4:42. The USA tied it 12-12 with two points from King and Maddox, who made the USA’s only 2. Two quick 2s by Netherlands put them up 16-12, and the USA got no closer than three points, 19-16, with 1:25 to play. With the USA in the foul penalty, Netherlands made two free throws to end the game 21-16 with 1:04 on the clock. The USA was led by eight points from King, and Hummel and Jones each had two points. Netherlands finished the game shooting 14-25 overall, including 5-of-13 from 2-point, while the USA shot 15-of-25 but was just 1-of-6 from 2-point.

Netherlands went on to qualify for the Olympics after beating France in the semifinals. Poland beat Latvia to earn the other semifinal berth, and Latvia beat France in the third-place game to earn the final men’s Olympic spot awarded at the tournament.

2021 USA 3x3 MEN'S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TEAM ROSTER

2021 USA 3x3 MEN'S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING CUMULATIVE STATISTICS