The Canadian women’s 3×3 basketball team encountered some déjà vu amidst their two Friday games, losing both to dramatic overtime buzzers against the U.S. and then to Spain.
They began their day battling it out in what seemed to be the definition of a back-and-forth game against a tough U.S. squad. There ended up being nine ties throughout, with the 10th coming after the U.S. scored three unanswered to even up the score at 16 apiece with 22 seconds remaining, which would send the game to overtime.
Seven seconds into the extra frame, Canada opened the scoring as Michelle Plouffe dished out an assist to twin sister Kathrine Plouffe for the one-pointer. But the U.S. team responded ten seconds later, hitting a two-pointer from deep, ending the game on a buzzer-beater.
Katherine Plouffe led all scorers with 10 points on 8-of-12 shooting, one of two coming from beyond the arc, while Michelle Plouffe added four points and six rebounds.
Canada looked to bounce back in its next matchup against Spain but met a similar fate.
The game was evenly matched for the first seven minutes until it seemed that Spain was beginning to pull away. A two-pointer extended their lead to 16-12 with just over two minutes to go, but in a quick sequence, Canada brought it back to 16-15. However, Spain responded quickly hitting another two-pointer to attempt to put the game out of reach.
Here, Canada’s defence was on full display over the remaining final minutes, with Paige Crozon swatting a crucial block while, on the other end, M. Plouffe earned the hoop and the harm to take the one-point lead with 30 seconds left.
By the end of regulation, the game was tied at 20-20 apiece, leading to yet another overtime for Canada, but Spain did not let this one last long. Eight seconds in, as Spain started with the ball, a step-back two-pointer connected, ending the game on yet another buzz beater, as Spain walked away victorious.
M. Plouffe finished with 11 points and six rebounds, both of which were game-highs. While K. Plouffe added six and five respectfully.
Despite shooting 56 per cent from the floor, Canada only converted one of seven from beyond the arc, while Spain managed to knock down six out of their 12 attempts from deep.
While potentially being moments away from finishing the day with a 5-1 win/loss, these back-to-back overtime losses dropped Canada’s record to 3-3.
Canada will look to break .500 in their final game of round-robin play as they look to face off against Azerbaijan. Tipoff is set for Saturday, August 3 at 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 p.m. PT.