Hailey Van Lith led the U.S. with six points in Tuesday’s loss to Germany.
PARIS (AP) — The defending champion U.S. women fell to Germany 17-13 on Tuesday in the opening game of pool play in 3×3 basketball.
Hailey Van Lith led the U.S. with six points. But she was struggling after the game, and she said she believes the heat exacerbated an illness she already was dealing with.
“I think I actually have a cold,” she said. “I think it was from the rain in the opening ceremony. So, I think it’s a combination of that, but I’ll be fine. I played through it in the NCAA Tournament, so there’s nothing that’s going to take me out.”
The 🇺🇸 #3x3WNT drops the opener.
Game two comes tomorrow against 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan at 3:30 pm ET. pic.twitter.com/IcDMoyRcTP
— USA Basketball 3×3 (@usab3x3) July 30, 2024
(Technically, standing in the rain and cold alone isn’t what makes people sick. But being in those conditions for long periods of time can affect the immune system.)
Sonja Greinacher had five points and six rebounds to lead Germany and Marie Reichert added five points.
The U.S. raced out to a 5-0 lead, but Germany scored the next six points, with three from Elisa Mevius, to take the lead.
Van Lith made a layup before dishing to Dearica Hamby for another basket to cut Germany’s advantage to 11-10 with about three minutes to go.
Greinacher made a 2-point shot for Germany before another basket by Van Lith got the U.S. within 1 again with about 90 seconds remaining.
This time, Germany scored the next four points, with two each from Greinacher and Reichert to pull away for the victory.
“It obviously gives us a lot of self-confidence going forward,” Greinacher said.
Cierra Burdick was disappointed in the team’s Olympic opener, but she said it isn’t surprising that they still have work to do since they haven’t been playing together that long. Hamby replaced Cameron Brink on the team this summer after Brink sustained a knee injury.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty,” she said. “I didn’t think it was going to be that ugly.”
