“It’s Not Over Until It’s Over”. Well, this fittingly suits the campaign of the US 3×3 basketball team at the Paris Olympics. Having their back against the walls by losing their opening 3 games, the current Olympic and World champions roared their way to a 4th straight win. As a result, they book their semifinal spot. A play-in game against China that ended in a 21-13 result for the pre-tournament favorites now means their shot at another Olympic gold is just 2 steps away. And, it was the last-minute replacement of the injured Cameron Brink–Dearica Hamby who turned out to be the instrumental catalyst behind their recent exploits.

Entering the contest ranked No. 5 in the pool play standings, they faced a Chinese squad who were 2-4 in the competition so far. But, having had them defeated earlier, Cierra Burdick, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard and Hailey Van Lith dictated the terms throughout the fixture. Some back-to-back layups by Hamby and Howard gave the squad some opening momentum. Then, Hamby with her near the paint expertise connected two 2-pointers to provide a 9-6 advantage.

Anyhow, there was some resistance from a fighting Chinese squad bridging the gap to just 3 points at one point. But, some devastating beyond-the-arc accuracy from Hamby, Howard and Van Lith resulted in an 8-3 run to eventually seal the deal for Team USA.

“This might have been our best offensive performance. Fluidity and just like open baskets, the easiest shots we’ve gotten all tournament”, Dearica Hamby opened up on what made the win possible.

Down but not out ❗️

As it turns out, she was the team’s leading performer Dearica Hamby finishing with 9 points and 5 rebounds. Moreover, she was 3 of 3 from the 2-point territory and converted 3 out of her 7 one-pointers. However, the 30-year-old wasn’t the only name worthy of praise.

Who else complemented Dearica Hamby?

Many would believe that it was the most complete performance put up by Team USA so far at the Paris Olympics. And rightly so as each player had a valuable contribution to make. The team’s No.10 Rhyne Vanycia Howard and the 6 ft 2 in forward Cierra Burdick added 5 points each.

Howard was 3 of 7 in her 1-pointers and buried 1 out of her 2 from the two-point range. At the same time, Burdick grabbed a team-high tally of 8 rebounds while shooting 4 of 5 from the paint. Meanwhile, No.9 Hailey Van Lith had 2 points in the bag to go along with her 5 rebounds.

An inspirational comeback by the defending Olympic champs. The unit now has the required momentum heading into the business end of the competition. It will be interesting to see how they can capitalize on it.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And, join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show”. Our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr.