Rimini, Italy • Sept. 9-11, 2011

Following the success of the 3x3 tournament at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games and FIBA’s (International Basketball Federation) recent announcement that it will conduct the FIBA 1st Invitational 3x3 Youth World Championship for players 18 years old and younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1993) from Sept. 9-11 in Rimini, Italy, USA Basketball announced the four players who comprised the USA Girls 3x3 Team for the event.

Representing the United States girls 3x3 team were four members of the 2011 USA U16 National Team that helped the U.S. claim gold at the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship in June.

Accepting invites to play for the USA girls were: Kaela Davis (Buford H.S./Suwanee, GA), Rebecca Greenwell (Owensboro Catholic H.S. /Owensboro, Ky.), Linnae Harper (Whitney M. Young H.S./Chicago, Ill.), and Taya Reimer (Hamilton Southeastern H.S. /Fishers, Ind.).

The USA girls and the USA boys 3x3 teams trained Sept. 3-5 at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., then traveled to Rimini, Italy for the competition.

The 3x3 Youth World Championship girls competition featured 24 teams that were divided into four preliminary round groups consisting of six teams each. The first four finishing teams from each group advanced to the eighth finals, with the winners advancing on to the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.

Spain defeated Italy 16-15 to take home the gold medal for the girls 3x3 competition.

The championship also featured 3-point and free throw competitions, and the USA’s Davis finished third in the free throw competition that included boys and girls players.

“This was a great experience that I will always remember,” Davis said. “We met people from all over the world, and even though we were competing for the same goal, we had a lot of fun getting to know each other. Looking back, I’d do it all over again.”

Day 1 - Sept. 9
The USA Basketball Girls 3x3 Team finished a perfect 4-0 on day one of the inaugural FIBA 3x3 Youth World Championship  in Rimini, Italy.

The U.S. girls recorded a convincing 21-7 win versus India in their opening game. Davis led the U.S. offense with seven points, Greenwell tossed in six, while Harper and Reimer each accounted for four points.

The U.S. girls improved to 2-0 after disposing of Sri Lanka 21-6. Reimer scored seven points, Davis added six, Greenwell tossed in five and Harper was credited with three points.

The U.S. earned its third straight win with a 21-3 pounding of Guam. Greenwell led the charge with eight points, Harper added six points, Reimer scored four and Davis added three points.

In its last game of opening day, the USA 3x3 Girls Team downed Italy 16-13. Davis led the USA with 10 points, and Harper and Greenwell each added 3 points. After suffering an injury to her right ankle against Guam, Reimer did not play against Italy and after being further evaluated was unable to play the remainder of the tournament. Reimer’s injury left the American squad with just three players to compete the rest of championship.

"I thought today went really well,” Greenwell said. “Our first three games we finished pretty quickly, but the last game against Italy was a hard-fought win, especially since we didn’t have Taya.

“I think after our first game we all got our jitters out, and we started playing together and running our sets. That really paid off against Italy, which was a really tough opponent.”

Day 2 - Sept. 10
The USA Basketball Girls 3x3 Team remained undefeated and improved to 7-0 on Day Two at the FIBA 3x3 Youth World Championship and battled Czech Republic through a first overtime to record a sudden-death 25-23 win that propelled the team into the medal semifina.

The USA girls started day two right where it left off Friday as it rolled past Sweden 20-14 to close out preliminary play with an unblemished 5-0 record. Harper poured in 10 points and Davis was good for nine points.

Advancing as one of the top four teams out of preliminary round Pool C, the USA next downed India 15-7 in the medal Round of 16. Davis led her side with eight points, Harper chipped in four and Greenwell added three points.

Next, in the medal quarterfinals, the USA battled the Czech Republic through the first overtime and recorded a 25-23 sudden-death win in the second overtime. Davis tallied 13 points, followed by Harper with seven and Greenwell with five points.
The USA’s victory over the Czechs put the Americans in the Sept. 11 medal semifinals against Italy

Sidelined with a sprained right ankle suffered on Friday, Reimer did not play on Saturday and did not return to the court on Sunday.

“Both days of this tournament have been long days. We had four games yesterday, and we did pretty well, so that set us up in a good position for our three games today. We get better and better as each day goes on,” Davis said.

"In the last game against Czech Republic, it came down to sudden death and we really had to pull together to get that win," Davis continued. “Defense is obviously a big part of this game, and we got stops when it really mattered today. Slowly but surely we are putting all of the parts of this puzzle together and getting better with every game.

“It’s always hard to play somebody twice," Davis said of facing Italy in the semifinals, a team the USA beat 16-13 in preliminary play on Friday. "In the first game we played them our defense wasn’t that great, and I think that has improved since then. It will be a good game."

Day 3 - Sept. 11
The USA Basketball Girls 3x3 Team took home an honorary bronze medal after an impressive effort on day three in of the FIBA 3x3 Youth World Championship. 

Approximately one-and-a-half minutes into the USA Girls' semifinal game against Italy, the U.S. squad was reduced to two healthy players after Greenwell  suffered a knee injury. The USA’s fourth player, Reimer, had been sidelined since the team’s third game by a sprained ankle.

The game was delayed by about 90  minutes before Davis and Harper finished out the contest playing two-on-three.

The duo battled Italy into overtime before succumbing by just two points, 21-19. Davis finished with 14 points, while Harper added five.

Slated to play Japan in the bronze medal game, the USA forfeited due to injury and technically finished fourth, however, FIBA  recognized the USA's effort and awarded the team honorary bronze medals.

“I think at this point it doesn’t take a medal to show that we did something great, but it is very humbling for FIBA to award us honorary bronze medals,” Davis said. “We played our hearts out, and we are all proud of the effort we put forth today. The atmosphere was crazy, and at one point it seemed like every one in the gym was surrounding the court and cheering both teams on. It was pretty amazing.”

2011 USA WOMEN'S 3X3 YOUTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM ROSTER

2011 USA WOMEN'S 3X3 YOUTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS