Canada’s 17-game win streak in women’s 3×3 basketball halted by Lithuania in quarterfinals
Click on the video player above to watch live action from Day 1 of the FIBA Women’s 3X3 Basketball Series event in Debrecen.
Canada will not win a fourth straight 3×3 basketball Women’s Series title.
Poor shooting from the field and free-throw line, along with foul trouble, was the inexperienced and new-look team’s downfall in Monday’s 18-15 quarterfinal loss to Lithuania in Debrecen, Hungary.
Canada trailed 18-12 with 1:24 left on the clock but cut the margin in half in a 57-second span, thanks to Keishana Washington recording the team’s third two-pointer in 15 attempts with 27 seconds remaining.
However, the Canadians’ faint hopes of a comeback were quashed by an offensive foul, their ninth overall, with 13.8 seconds left.
Canada shot only 41 per cent from the field (7-for-17) while Lithuania drained eight of 12 attempts and was 4-for-12 from the free-throw line.
WATCH | Canada falls to Lithuania by 3 points in Hungary:
Watch quarterfinal action as Canada takes on Lithuania from the 2023 FIBA Women’s 3×3 Series in Debrecen, Hungary.
Cassandra Brown and Washington led the Canadians with six points apiece, while Samantha Cooper and Saicha Grant-Allen added two and one each.
Cooper is the only team member in Debrecen to have appeared in competition this season.
Lithuania pulls away with 6-0 run
The usual foursome of twin sisters Michelle and Katherine Plouffe along with sharpshooting Paige Crozon and Kacie Bosch are absent after reeling off title wins in Edmonton, Prague and Quebec City in three weeks.
Leading 11-9, Lithuania began to pull away after Cooper missed a two-pointer with 5:35 left.
A 6-0 run featured three missed two-point attempts by Canada, including a pair from Washington, and a couple of points scored by the Lithuanians following Canadian fouls.
Monika Grigalauskyte topped a balanced Lithuanian attack with six points. She also posted a game-high nine rebounds and eight defensive rebounds.
Martyna Petrenaite, Gabriele Sulske and Dalia Donskichyte each had four points.
Lithuania will meet Germany’s Düsseldorf ZOOS in the semifinals at 2:10 p.m. ET. The final is scheduled for 3:25 p.m.
The Women’s Series returns to Canada this weekend in Montreal and culminates with the Ulaanbaatar Final in Mongolia on Sept. 16-17.
