PARIS, France — Team USA's 3x3 women's basketball team finished its game against Germany on Tuesday, with two star athletes from North Carolina.
Team USA fell to Germany 17-13 in defense of its 2021 Olympic title at LaConcorde, with North Carolina's Cierra Burdick and Dearica Hamby scoring four and two points each, respectively.
A native of Charlotte, Burdick graduated from Butler High School before finishing an All-American career for the famed Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Burdick was also a WNBA draft pick and played a handful of seasons for a handful of teams.
Looking to the triad, Dearica Hamby is Wake Forest University's most decorated women’s basketball player. Hamby currently reps the Los Angeles Sparks as a forward.
The quartet of women on the U.S. team are well-known pro and college players, even though Caitlin Clark was ineligible and the biggest names in the WNBA are in the 5-on-5 tournament. Hamby is having a career year for the Los Angeles Sparks, Rhyne Howard was the first overall pick of the Atlanta Dream two years ago, Hailey Van Lith played with Angel Reese for LSU last season and Burdick has played for seven teams over five WNBA seasons.
While none was part of the U.S. team that lost just once in pool play and beat France and the athletes from Russia on the way to the gold medal in Tokyo, they nevertheless boast plenty of experience in the nuanced, half-court 3x3 game.
Burdick won gold at the World Cup a decade ago and teamed with Van Lith — who has played the variation since she was 15 — to win another World Cup last year. Hamby helped the Americans take gold at the AmeriCup. And while Howard is relatively new to the scene, she did star in the 3x3 Challenge at the WNBA All-Star festivities.
“We're super grateful to be here, super grateful to wear USA across our chest, and represent our country on the world stage,” Burdick said. “Unlike the men, we've been together for about a week and a half, so we need all the preparation we can get."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
