November 15, 2021
U.S. women take 3×3 AmeriCup gold medal
The United States dominated in the inaugural 3x3 AmeriCup
The United States women’s 3×3 dominated at the inaugural 3×3 AmeriCup, winning the gold medal game in Miami on Sunday, 21-9, over Brazil.
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Brionna Jones, the 6’3 center from Maryland and the Connecticut Sun, led the group with seven points and four rebounds and was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Cierra Burdick, Blake Dietrick and Haley Gorecki joined Jones to round out the team.
While Burdick and Jones have previous experience playing for USA Basketball, this was the first USA Basketball experience for both Gorecki and Dietrick. Gorecki replaced the injured Alexis Peterson Nov. 1 and Dietrick was added to the roster to replace the injured Kelsey Mitchell last week.
Burdick was a member of the 2014 gold medal World Cup team, and Jones was a member of the 2015 World University Games gold medalist team in Gwangju, South Korea.
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With the win, the U.S. qualified for next June’s FIBA 3×3 World Cup in Antwerp, Belgium.
The U.S. breezed through AmeriCup group play with wins over Argentina and Trinidad and Tobago earlier this week, both by scores of 22-2, then defeated the Dominican Republic in the quarterfinals, 21-7, and Puerto Rico in the semifinals, 21-11.
Silver medalist Brazil previously defeated Canada in the semifinals, 20-13, and historic rival Argentina, 21-8, in the quarterfinals. Canada topped Puerto Rico for the bronze medal, 18-12. Additionally, the U.S. men also beat Brazil in the final of its draw, 21-15.
Jones was joined on the all-tournament team with Michelle Plouffe of Canada and Sassa of Brazil, which also punched its ticket to next year’s World Cup.
The two-time champion U.S. will make its first World Cup appearance since finishing fifth in the Philippines in 2018. The U.S. missed the 2019 event, and the 2020 event was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Written by Scott Mammoser
Scott Mammoser covered the Paris 2024 Olympics for The Next. He has also covered major international events for FIBA, World Athletics and the International Skating Union. He has attended six other Olympics and traveled to more than 90 countries.
