Canada's 3x3 Women’s National Team opened FIBA 3x3 Women's Series 2023 play with a perfect 2-0 record in Day 1 of play in Orléans, France on Friday.
In the first game of the day, Canada opened the tournament against Azerbaijani team Neftchi, using a balanced-scoring effort to record a 21-17 victory.
Michelle Plouffe finished with a game-high eight points and Paige Crozon scored seven points as Canada pulled away late. Kacie Bosch found Katherine Plouffe inside for an easy score to give Canada the 21-17 victory with 49.8 seconds remaining on the clock. Katherine Plouffe finished with six points in the win.
“It feels great to start 2-0 and get the first spot [heading into Day 2],” Katherine Plouffe said. “Going 2-0 against all of these teams that are at a pretty high level is a great start and sets the tone for the knockout rounds.”
Canada defeated Italy 17-9 after a slow start in their second game of the day. Once again, Michelle Plouffe led the way, scoring eight points as she shot 8-for-9 from the floor and nearly matched the entire Italian team’s scoring output herself. Neither team made a two-point shot in the game, but Canada out-rebounded Italy 28-17 as Katherine and Michelle Plouffe each grabbed seven rebounds and Bosch added six rebounds. Katherine Plouffe also recorded seven highlights in the game, as well as a blocked shot.
“We started off getting used to the heat, for sure, that definitely plays a factor,” Katherine Plouffe said. “It was very, very sunny and hot. We got fatigued a little bit faster, but definitely talked about getting rhythm and spacing and moving with more fluidity. Moving from the World Cup to now, we knew some things we had to work on, focused on those and got it rolling.”
The teams traded baskets and scores until the midway point of the game when a basket from Bosch gave Canada a two-point lead, 6-4. From there, Canada went on a 8-3 run to build a 14-7 lead with 2:16 on the clock. Back-to-back buckets from Bosch and Crozon pushed Canada to a 16-8 advantage, leading to Michelle Plouffe scoring at the buzzer to give Canada the victory.
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“There was definitely a point in each game where we kind of pulled away,” Katherine Plouffe said. “I think one, we’re so steady, no matter what happens in the game we can remain composed and have poise and keep grinding it out. I think that’s a strength of ours and some other teams don’t necessarily have that steadiness. We definitely turned it on when we talked in the timeouts about some things that are tripping us up. We make those quick changes and sometimes it’s just keep doing what we’re doing and the shots will fall. Familiarity with each other, chemistry and just trust in each other that really helps us in those moments.”
Canada’s 2-0 record clinches the top spot in Group A where they will advance to the event quarter-finals where they will face China’s Sc. Yuanda on Saturday at 1:00 pm ET / 10:00 am PT. Fans can follow the action live on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem, or FIBA’s YouTube Channel.
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