The Canadian Women's 3x3 Team fell to France, 21-12 in the semifinals of the FIBA Women's 3x3 Orléans series stop on Friday.

Represented by Cassandra Brown, Paige Crozon, Katherine Plouffe and Mackenzie Smith at the Orléans series stop, the Canadians opened Day 2 action by defeating the Netherlands 17-16 to advance to the semifinals against France. Crozon scored a game-winning layup to lead Canada to victory.

Plouffe led all scorers with 10 points and eight rebounds while Crozon added six points as Canada outlasted a Netherlands team that kept pushing until the final buzzer.

After a back-and-forth start, a bucket from Crozon followed by a two-pointer from Plouffe gave Canada a four-point lead, 9-5, with 4:40 remaining. Another basket for Plouffe kept the lead at four points, but a layup and then back-to-back two-pointers moved the Netherlands into front, 11-10 with 3:44 remaining.

A fadeaway from Crozon saw Canada lead by one,13-12. Plouffe made it a two-point advantage for the Canadiansm but back-to-back buckets from Janis Boonstra tied the game at 14 all with 1:12 remaining. Plouffe moved Canada back in front, 16-15, with 49 seconds remaining, but Julia Jorritsma tied things up with 43 seconds on the clock. A driving layup from Crozon gave Canada the 17-16 lead with 36 seconds remaining and Canada’s defence held the lead for the victory.

In the semifinal against France, Myriam Djekoundade finished with seven points and 11 rebounds as France outrebounded Canada 20-11, including 6-4 on the offensive glass. The Canadians struggled to stop Laeticia Guapo from getting to the basket as she finished with eight points and six rebounds in the win.

France’s defence was smothering to start, allowing France to build a 5-0 lead before Plouffe scored Canada’s first point of the game with 7:12 remaining. Plouffe scored again inside, but Guapo responded for France to keep the advantage at four. A layup from Crozon brought Canada within two points, but France continued to score, building their lead to six by the halfway mark. A two-pointer, also from Crozon, brought Canada within four, but they wouldn’t get any closer the rest of the way through as France continued to get to the basket to score.

Back-to-back buckets for Marie-Eve Paget gave France a six-point advantage, but a free throw from Brown followed by a bucket from Crozon brought Canada back within four once again. A free throw and a layup from Guapo extended the advantage back to six points with 2:23 remaining. After getting in early foul trouble, Canada was over the foul limit and a pair of free throws for Marie Mané made it 18-10 France. Mané made another pair of free throws to give France the 20-12 advantage, placing them in position to secure the victory with 1:09 remaining. A layup from Guapo gave France the 21-12 victory.

Up next for the Canadians will be a homecoming when they play on Canadian soil for the Quebec Series Stop June 29th-30th.