3x3 Women's Series Edmonton - Day 1 Recap
The inaugural 3x3 Women' Series reached its final stop in Edmonton, coincidentally the home town of Canada's marquee players Michelle and Katherine Plouffe. They, along with team mates Paige Crozon and Catherine Traer, were wanting to end the season on a high in front of the home crowds at the West Edmonton Mall.
Canada took home the top prize last time they played on home soil, in Montreal, and came into the Edmonton tournament as the highest ranked of the six teams - but the field was still a gruelling one. Italy and Poland have proved their 3x3 prowess in the series so far, while Czech Republic, Spain and the USA are all teams never to be taken lightly.
This time out, teams would be playing in pools of three, the ones who finished on top advancing to the semi finals the next day. The remaining two entering a playoff to decide who would get one last chance at success in the series' final stop.
The hosts got proceedings underway taking on the Czech Republic, and early on Paige Crozon played the hero for Canada, giving them an early lead and going on to outscore everyone with ten points. The Czechs, meanwhile, did not put up much of a fight, finding only occasional and irregular scoring chances.
A great team effort saw Canada take a double-digit lead midway through the game and they carried on this momentum to finish as victors by a margin of 19-7. They then had a wait for their next game against Poland, who were looking for redemption after losing to the Czech Republic by six points in their first game.
Poland had been one of the more impressive teams throughout the series, but were far less physical and confident in possession as Canada, allowing them to take an eight-point lead after four minutes played.
Crozon impressed once again, contributing six points. Michelle Plouffe, though, caught fire from beyond the arc on her way to a game-high eleven points and building Canada's lead more and more as play went on.
With no response from their opponents, a final two-pointer from Michelle with two minutes left in the game took Canada over the 21-point mark, netting them the win with a final score of 22-10.
So far so good from Canada, who top Pool A undefeated. They bag a semi final berth and will play either Spain, who finished third in the other pool, or see a rematch with the Czech Republic. Pool B, meanwhile, saw first-place USA secure the second semi final spot, while runners-up Italy will play Poland for the last place in the final four.
A full report of the final day's action will appear here soon after, while more information can be found on the official website of the 3x3 Women's Series.
Picture: FIBA.com
