Canadian women 2 wins from 1st Olympic berth in 3x3 basketball
CBC
Canada split a pair of games in women's 3x3 basketball Saturday to gain a spot in the semifinals of an Olympic qualifying tournament in Utsunomiya, Japan.
The top-ranked Canadians, who beat Kenya in their opener, began Saturday with a 22-9 drubbing of the Netherlands before facing a tough Australian outfit, which prevailed 21-16 with an impressive final minute of play.
Canada takes a 2-1 record into Sunday's semifinal against Germany (2-1) at 4:20 a.m. ET. Live streaming of the game is available at CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
Australia and Brazil meet in the other semifinal at 4:45 a.m., with the final scheduled for 6:20 a.m. The champion secures a spot in the Olympic tournament this summer in Paris.
Should Canada not place first in Japan, it would have one more chance to qualify for the Olympics later this month in Hungary. The top three finishers in that 16-team event will round out the eight-team field in Paris. Host France, the United States, China and Azerbaijan have already qualified for the Games.
Against the Netherlands, Canada exchanged 10 points with its opponent before Paige Crozon's two-pointer extended the Canadian lead to 8-4.
WATCH | Full match replay, Canada vs. Netherlands:
The standard three-point line serves as the two-point line in 3-on-3, while baskets made from inside the arc are worth one.
Up 9-5, Canada went on a 6-0 run with Katherine Plouffe, twin sister Michelle and Crozon contributing on the scoresheet.
After Noortje Driessen of the Netherlands scored a single point, Michelle Plouffe made good on a two-point attempt and added a pair of free throws for a 19-6 Canadian advantage.
With Canada leading 20-9, Crozon's two-pointer ended the match with 64 seconds on the clock.
Games end when a team reaches 21 points or the 10-minute time limit expires.
Michelle Plouffe led all players with nine points and seven rebounds and was 4-for-4 from the foul line. Crozon added eight points, two rebounds and connected on each of her two-point attempts.
Later Saturday, neither Canada nor Australia held more than a two-point lead until Australia's Marena Whittle put her team ahead 18-15 with a free throw with one minute four seconds remaining.
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