Takeaways from Canada’s 3×3 win over Australia

Want even more women’s sports in your inbox?

Subscribe now to our sister publication The IX and receive our independent women’s sports newsletter six days a week. Learn more about your favorite athletes and teams around the world competing in soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers.

Readers of The Next now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.

Here’s what we learned from the Canadian women’s 3×3 team’s opening win.

Katherine Plouffe is world No. 1 for a reason

The No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 players in the world — Katherine Plouffe, Paige Crozon and Michelle Plouffe — are all on Canada’s squad, along with world No. 26 Kacie Bosch.

The No. 1 ranked player in women’s 3×3, Katherine Plouffe, led Canada with 10 points and three rebounds, spending the most time of any Canadian on the court, clocking 7:35 of playing time. She was 100% from deep, going 2-for-2 from 2-point range and three-for-five on 1-point shots.

Her twin sister, Michelle Plouffe, added eight points and five rebounds in the win, going 4-for-6 from 1-point range but hitting just two of eight attempts from long. Crozon tallied four points and four rebounds, and Bosch added another two rebounds for Canada.

Katherine Plouffe was the most efficient player on the court for Canada with a shooting efficiency rating of 0.83, and her final 2-point shot was the basket that sealed the victory for the Canadians despite Australia’s late surge.

Strong start key for Team Canada victory

The game may have ended closer than Team Canada would have liked, but their start built a strong enough foundation to get the victory, beginning the game on a 6-0 run and leading by as many as 13 points.

“We had a really strong game plan. We watched those games to make sure we were prepared,” Crozon said. “They are such a strong team, and we knew we had to be prepared.”

Both Plouffe sisters combined for the six points, adding three each, before Marena Whittle made Australia’s first basket of the game. Katherine Plouffe responded with another three points, and two made free throws put her up to seven points and gave Canada its first double-digit lead of the game.

Three consecutive points from Crozon put Canada ahead 15-2 with less than five minutes on the clock, but Australia went on a 6-0 run of its own to apply the pressure to Canada before Michelle Plouffe put another point on the board to stop Australia’s momentum.

Add Locked On Women’s Basketball to your daily routine

Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.

Canada refuses to fall to late Australian pressure

Despite Canada leading by double digits for most of the game, Australia closed the gap to six points with just over a minute and a half left to play, as Alex Wilson hit a 2-point shot, leading Australia with six points and six rebounds.

Whittle and Anneli Maley both recorded four points in the loss, with Maley scoring three of her points with less than three minutes to play. Australia struggled with shooting, however, going just 5-for-16 on 1-point attempts, and making just one 2-point shot the whole match.

In comparison Canada shot 62%, going 8-for-13 from 1-point range and 4-for-11 from 2-point range. Canada led in key assists with four, as well as 10 defensive rebounds to Australia’s eight, and Canada committed just six turnovers to Australia’s nine.

Next up for Team Canada is a match against China on Wednesday.