‍TORONTO (May 15, 2024) — Canada Basketball announced Wednesday the Canadian Women’s 3x3 National Teams that will represent Canada this weekend at the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024.

Kacie Bosch, Paige Crozon, Katherine and Michelle Plouffe return for Canada at the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024, which runs from Thursday, May 16, to Sunday, May 19, in Debrecen, Hungary. Canada must finish in the top three teams in the tournament to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Canada will look to bounce back this weekend after dropping a tight decision to Australia 19-16 in the finals at the FIBA 3x3 Universality Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Utsunomiya, Japan, earlier this month.  While the team went 3-2 in the tournament, with both of their losses coming against Australia, they led the competition in two-point shots made (16), key assists (19) and blocks (10).  The team is coming off their second consecutive FIBA 3x3 Women's Series, winning five stops last season, including a thrilling victory over rival France in the Ulaanbaatar final in Mongolia last September.

Canada is in Pool B for the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 and will face 20th-ranked Chile (3:40 p.m. ET, May 16), 9th-ranked Lithuania (5:55 p.m. ET, May 16), and 13th-ranked Czechia (5:05 p.m. ET, May 18) in pool play.  The top two teams from each pool will advance to the quarter-finals.  Those four quarterfinal winners will meet in the semifinals, with each semifinal winner and the third-place finisher qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.  The official FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 website shows the full matchup schedule.

Fans in Canada can catch all the action streaming across CBC digital platforms, including the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca and CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices or FIBA 3x3 YouTube.  

The four Canadians rank in the top 25 of the FIBA 3x3 Individual Player Rankings, with twins Katherine and Michelle ranked first and second, respectively.  The Plouffe sisters are looking to return to the Olympic Games after proudly representing as Senior Women’s National Team members at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.  Originally from Humboldt, Saskatchewan, and ranked third in the FIBA 3x3 Individual Player Rankings, Crozon was a fixture for Canada last season as she appeared in ten 3x3 tournaments, including the FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2023 and the FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup 2023.  Ranked 19th, Bosch made the jump to 3x3 in 2021 after a successful collegiate career that saw her play for her hometown University of Lethbridge, where she was named a two-time Canada West Second All-Star Team with the Pronghorns.  Former Senior Women’s National Team captain and three-time Olympian Kim Gaucher will coach Canada.     

After being granted Olympic status in 2017, 3x3 basketball debuted four years ago at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Eight men's and eight women's teams will compete at the 3x3 event from July 30 to August 5, held at the iconic Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris. Six teams, three countries per gender, have directly qualified for Paris 2024 based on the FIBA 3x3 Federation Ranking as of November 1, 2023.

The team qualified for the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 as one of the top 14-16 teams (yet to qualify) in the FIBA 3x3 Federation Ranking. Canada as a federation is ranked 5th in the FIBA 3x3 Federation Rankings.