Last-chance qualifier to decide Canada's Olympic fate in women's 3x3 basketball

Well, at least Canada's path to a potential Olympic berth in women's 3x3 basketball no longer includes Australia.

For the second time on the weekend, Australia eked out a 19-16 victory over the Canadians after pulling away late in Sunday's championship game in Utsunomiya, Japan, to put the latter's Paris Summer Games hopes on hold.

Canada finished the Olympic qualification tournament with a 3-2 record and wins over Kenya, Netherlands and Germany in the semifinals earlier Sunday.

Twin sisters Katherine and Michelle Plouffe of Edmonton, Kacie Bosch of Lethbridge, Alta., and Paige Crozon of Humboldt, Sask., have one more chance to qualify for the Summer Games at a May 16-19 tourney in Debrecen, 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 previously qualified.

In Sunday's final, neither side led by more than one point until Alex Wilson made it 14-12 Australia with 3:23 left in regulation.

The Aussies, who defeated Canada 21-16 in group play on Saturday, extended the margin to four on a Wilson free throw and Marena Whittle basket.

WATCH | Full match replay, Canada vs. Australia:

FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament Utsunomiya Final: Canada vs. Australia

7 months ago

Duration 32:23

Watch Canada play Australia in the women's final of the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Utsunomiya, Japan, with the winner earning a spot in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Bosch cut the deficit to 16-15 with 69 seconds remaining with a pair of free throws.

Tournament MVP Anneli Maley of Australia and Katherine Plouffe exchanged baskets before Wilson connected twice from the foul line before the final buzzer sounded.

Games end when a team reaches 21 points or the 10-minute time limit expires.

Katherine Plouffe led Canada with six points and seven rebounds but also had six of her team's 10 turnovers.

'Trying to be great' like Plouffe sisters

Michelle Plouffe added eight points and five rebounds while struggling from two-point range with a 1-for-7 performance. She made the only two pointer on 11 attempts by Canada, which shot 50 per cent (10-for-20) from the field.

"They're winners in their mannerisms, how they approach the off-season, their resiliency, their nutrition, their work ethic," Crozon said of the Plouffes. "I've just been following their blueprint for the past five years and I'm trying to be like them. Trying to be great."

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.

Wilson and Whittle had eight points apiece for Australia, which shot 56 per cent (10-for-18) from the field and 78 per cent (7-for-9) from the free-throw line. Wilson added three blocked shots.

Canada advanced to the final with a 18-12 win over Germany behind a seven-point, six-rebound effort from Katherine Plouffe and six points from Crozon.

Huge layup

Crozon helped Canada pull away by scoring on an offensive putback and then making a two-pointer to give Canada a 9-5 advantage with 6:15 remaining.

Germany cut the deficit to 13-12 with under three minutes remaining, but Bosch found Katherine Plouffe cutting to the hoop for a layup. Canada's defence forced a shot-clock violation on Germany and Crozon hit her second two of the game to push Canada's advantage back to four points with 1:50 on the clock.

Crozon topped all players in the tournament in points (33) and two-pointers (10) while Michelle Plouffe was first in key assists (10), and rebounds (29).

Canada, the two-time defending Women's Series champions, won this year's first stop last week in Springfield, Mass., where they downed the U.S. 20-18 in the final.

Katherine Plouffe was named tournament MVP after scoring seven points against an American team that featured Rhyne Howard, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA draft and the league's rookie of the year that season.

WATCH | Full match replay, Canada vs. Germany semifinal:

FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament Utsunomiya Semifinals: Canada vs. Germany

7 months ago

Duration 27:02

Watch Canada face Germany in the semifinals of the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Utsunomiya, Japan.