basketball

US Women's 3×3 Basketball Team Beats ROC to Win Sport's First Gold Medal

The outcome was never in doubt as the U.S. captured gold

The four members of the U.S. women's 3x3 basketball team won gold and made history.

For future trivia questions asking who won the first Olympic gold medal in women's 3x3 basketball, the answer will be: Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young of the United States of America.

That quartet of WNBA players led the U.S. to an 18-15 victory over the Russian Olympic Committee in the first ever women's 3x3 basketball gold medal game on Wednesday.

The outcome was never in doubt as the Americans jumped out to an 8-3 lead behind five early points by Plum.

After ROC cut the United States' lead to three, Gray drove baseline and converted a layup for a 15-11 advantage with 2:12 left.

Yulia Kozik hit a 2-pointer to pull ROC within 17-14 with 44 seconds remaining, but Dolson answered with a putback to push the lead back to four and seal the victory and gold medal.

Dolson finished with seven points and nine rebounds. Plum finished with five points, Gray added four points and five rebounds, and Young had two points and three rebounds.

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The U.S. won its first six games of pool play before losing the finale to Japan. They edged France in the semifinals 18-16 earlier Wednesday to advance to the final.

The team now enters the history books as the sport's first gold medal winner.

China Defeats France to Capture Bronze Medal

China defeated France 16-14 to win the bronze medal in women's 3x3 basketball. Lili Wang led China with nine points, including five of the team's first seven.

Wang hit a 2-pointer with 2:24 remaining for a 14-9 lead. After France made it a one-possession, China's Shuyu Yang and France's Marie-Eve Paget exchanged 2's to make it 16-14 with 1:03 left.

Paget missed a pair of potential tying 2s in the final minute. With China attempting to dribble out the clock, France's Mamignan Toure stripped the ball off China and out of bounds to give possession back to France with 3.0 seconds left. Paget then overthrew a lob to the corner, sealing the win and the bronze medal for China.

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