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