The United States failed to repeat as champion in the women's 3×3 basketball tournament and one of the star players blames the referees.
The Americans lost their semifinal match against Spain, which eventually lost to Germany in the gold medal game; the United States took bronze by defeating Canada.
But gold for the United States in basketball is almost a given: In regular basketball, the men have won 16 golds in 20 appearances, while the women have 9 of 12 (one silver, one bronze).
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Team USA's Hailey van Lith competes in the women's 3×3 basketball bronze medal match against Canada on Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
That wasn't the case here. While the women won gold when the 3×3 tournament debuted in Tokyo in 2021, they fell short this year.
TCU's Hailey Van Lith, who transferred to the Horned Frogs after starring for LSU last season, took her shot after being down eight points in the semifinal.
“It was stupid. Those refs wanted the U.S. to lose,” she said after the game. “They got it all wrong. They're not that good. Good job, girls, we know who should have won.”
Her teammate, Cierra Burdick, took a different path.
Team USA's Dearica Hamby, left, Cierra Burdick, Hailey Van Lith and Rhyne Howard celebrate their bronze medal in women's 3×3 basketball on Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris. (Daniela Porcelli/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
American Olympic shot putter says she had a 'nightmare' with competition uniforms
“It's not the medal we wanted, obviously, but I don't want to take anything away from the moment,” Burdick said after the bronze medal match. “A lot of gratitude, a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this. It's a cliché, but it's very true.”
However, Van Lith's comments echoed what ESPN's Brian Windhorst recently said.
“FIBA doesn't really want the United States to do well in three-on-three basketball. What they want is for that to be for countries that can't field five-on-five teams,” Windhorst said.
“So, they do all these things, like they have all these different layers and layers of things that you have to do to qualify… The only way you can play is if you participate in, say, 15 qualifying events.”
Hailey Van Lith of Team USA is shown during the game against Germany at the Paris Olympics on July 30, 2024. (Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The men's 3×3 team failed to advance past the group stage, going 2-5 in their seven matches.
Follow Fox News Digital Sports coverage on X and subscribe to The Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
