Canada’s 3x3 Women’s National Team defeated Chile 21-8 to capture bronze at the FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup 2023 on Sunday.

Canada was led by a red-hot shooting performance from Paige Crozon who outscored Chile herself, scoring 13 points in the game and making a trio of two-pointers as Canada pulled away.

Jamie Scott added six rebounds and Saicha Grant-Allen had five points, six rebounds and five highlights in the win as Canada dominated from deep, shooting 6-for-12 from beyond the arc while Chile was scoreless from long range.

After a close start, Crozon tied the score at six points apiece with 6:11 remaining. A jumper from Scott put Canada back in front, 7-6  and the Canadians were off, closing the game on a 16-2 run in a dominant shooting performance.

After a pair of two-pointers and then a free throw from Crozon gave Canada a 17-7 lead with 2:41 remaining, Scott drained a two of her own to give Canada the 19-7 advantage and put Canada in a position to claim the victory. Chile’s Fernanda Cáceres scored for Chile and then Crozon connected on her third two of the game to give Canada the 21-8 win, and secure the bronze medal, with 1:47 remaining on the clock.

“I’m really proud of this team and the way we regrouped going into the bronze medal game. It was disappointing to lose in the semis to USA, especially with the effort and toughness we showed,” said Crozon. “However, this team improved so much over the course of the tournament and I’m proud of our growth and camaraderie.”

Canada’s bronze medal is the third for the Women’s National Team in the three-year history of the event. Canada claimed bronze in the inaugural 3x3 AmeriCup in 2021, before winning it all last December in Miami.

“I always feel so fortunate to represent Canada and I'm very happy to share this bronze medal with our friends and families. I’d also like to that all the individuals that supported us and our 3x3 community that continues to pave the way.”

Earlier in the day, Canada defeated host-team Puerto Rico 17-13 in the quarter-finals as Grant-Allen grabbed 10 rebounds and Scott finished with six points, four rebounds and four highlights.

Canada was unable to reach the AmeriCup Final for the second-straight year, after suffering a 21-15 defeat to the United States. Kelsey Mitchell scored nine points and had six highlights for the Americans who pulled away late. Canada led by three, 11-8, with 4:21 remaining, but it wasn’t enough as Mitchell started to heat up, drilling a step-back two-pointer to give the United States a one-point lead with 3:22 remaining. After a free throw from Dearica Hamby plus a free throw from Mitchell, the U.S. lead was three points. Crozon was called for a foul and Katie Lou Samuelson hit a pair of free throws to extend the advantage to five points, 16-11, with 1:23 remaining. A two from Scott trimmed the deficit to three points, but the U.S. responded and Canada ran out of time to complete a comeback.

Canada's 3x3 Men's National Team fell to Brazil 16-15 in overtime in the men’s quarter-finals. Chad Posthumus had a game-high 11 rebounds and Bikramjit Gill added nine rebounds as each player scored five points in the loss for Canada. 

After Brazil built an early 5-2 advantage, a layup and two-pointer from Gill tied the game at five points apiece with 7:22 remaining. An alley-oop dunk from Posthumus put Canada in front by three, and then Alex Johnson ‘s two-pointer extended Canada’s lead to four, 14-10 with 1:39 remaining, but Brazil mounted a furious comeback in the final minute of regulation. A drive from Leonardo Branquinho cut the lead to three. After an offensive foul was called on Jonhson with 22.9 seconds remaining, Brazil regained possession and William Weihermann drilled a two while being fouled. Weihermann went to the line to shoot two free throws and made one of two shots to tie the game at 14 points apiece and force overtime.

Brazil’s Jonatas Mello scored first in the overtime, and after a series of misses from both teams, Posthumus got Canada on the board to tie the game at 15 points apiece. Canada had their opportunities, but struggled to get shots to fall in the extra session. A second shot from Mello gave Brazil the 16-14 overtime victory.