Just a few days ago, the U.S. women's 3x3 basketball team was more or less left for dead, the erstwhile gold-medal favorites having dropped each of their first three games in Paris. Now, though, the script has flipped: The U.S. ripped off four straight wins to earn a spot in the play-in round, and on Saturday night, it punched its ticket to Monday's semifinals. (As a refresher: The top two teams in the standings at the conclusion of pool play advance directly to the semis, while teams 3-6 head to two play-in games and 7-8 are eliminated. The U.S. finished in third after a win on Saturday afternoon.)
Read on for a full recap of all the action from La Concorde.
3x3 basketball: Women's play-in games recap
United States 21, China 13
The magic carpet ride continues. The U.S. continued to look like a whole new team, leading nearly wire-to-wire for its second win over China in a matter of hours — this one with a spot in the semifinals on the line.
Team USA was a well-oiled machine on offense, constantly passing and moving to generate looks at the rim or open jumpers from two-point range. Dearica Hamby led the way with nine points and helped break the game open with a pair of two-pointers off slick kickout passes from Hailey Van Lith, part of a 6-1 run that gave the U.S. an 11-6 lead it wouldn't relinquish. Hamby's final two was the game-ending dagger.
The Americans hounded China on defense and on the glass, with a 21-8 rebounding advantage keyed by Cierra Burdick's eight.
Next up for the U.S.? The semifinal round on Monday afternoon, where it will take on second-seeded Spain at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Canada 21, Australia 12
The other semifinal matchup is also set, after Canada blasted Australia to set up a showdown with top-seeded Germany. Kacie Bosch was the star for the Canadians, hitting all six of her shots including two from long-range for a game-high nine points. Canada held Australia to just 7-of-23 from the field, including just three points over the game's final five minutes.