Canada bounces back with win over France after loss to Germany in 3x3 basketball

PARIS — Canada bounced back from a loss to Germany with a win over France in the Olympic women's 3x3 basketball tournament Thursday.

Katherine Plouffe had four points and six rebounds, twin sister Michelle Plouffe had three points and five rebounds and Paige Crozon pitched in four points in a 13-9 win over France as Canada improved to 3-1 in pool play.

Earlier, the Canadians dropped a 19-15 decision to Germany for their first loss.

“We know it will be a long tournament and for a team to come out 7-0 would have been crazy," Michelle Plouffe said. "We just moved on from it.

"It was like two separate days, that is how we prepared.”

Canada jumped out to a 5-0 lead. France pulled within two points twice, but never took the lead.

The Canadians were 9-for-16 on one-point shots but missed all six of their two-point attempts against the hosts.

“It is always tough to play France. The home atmosphere was so loud that we could not hear each other," Michelle Plouffe said. “It was an awesome crowd and it was fun to play.”

Canada will next face the United States and Spain on Friday.

Against Germany, the Canadians were chasing from behind for most of the game after their opponents got out to leads of 6-0 and 7-1 in the opening minutes.

Canada would then go on a run to tie the game at 7-7 capped by a shot by Kacie Bosch, and the teams would exchange leads as the score was 10-10 with 3:44 left in the game.

That was when the Germans would pull away again, going on a 9-2 run in the final minutes to push the score to 19-12 with 31 seconds left, putting the game out of reach for the Canadians.

Canada did not shoot as well as Germany did in the matchup, with the Canadians hitting 53 per cent of their one-point shots and 25 per cent of their two-pointers. Meanwhile, Germany shot 67 per cent on one-point shots and 57 per cent on their two-point attempts.

Michelle and Katherine Plouffe of Edmonton scored five points each. Germany was paced by Sonja Greinacher with eight points and Elisa Mevius with seven.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2024.

The Canadian Press