Three-time Mission Olympian Kim Smith Gaucher fell just short of the podium in her debut as head coach of the 3x3 women’s basketball team.
The squad of Katherine Plouffe, Michelle Plouffe, Kacie Bosch, and Paige Crozon became the first Canadian 3x3 team —men’s or women's — to appear in an Olympic Games after qualifying in May.
Canada dropped a 16-13 contest to the United States in the bronze-medal game on Monday (Aug. 5) to finish fourth at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The defeat came after a 16-15 last-second loss to Germany in the semi-finals earlier in the day.
“This team wouldn’t be complete without the guidance and support of Canada Basketball legend Kim Gaucher. We’re proud of you coach, and all of Canada is too,” Canada Basketball said in a social media post on Monday (Aug. 6).
Falling short of their goal of a medal was a bit of a disappointment for the team.
“Bittersweet because we were expecting a medal of ourselves, so to leave empty-handed, as far as medals are concerned, is very tough,” Bosch said in a Canada Basketball news release.
She went on to say: “Our first Olympic appearance is something to definitely be proud of. Are we satisfied? No, I don't know anybody in the world of sports who would be satisfied with the fourth-place finish. But yeah, we're going to learn from it. We're going to grow from it. Move on to tomorrow.”
In the semi-final, Canada dropped a 16-15 tightly contested matchup with eventual gold medalists, Germany. Sonja Greinacher netted a game-high 11 points for Germany, including a last-second shot to lift them to victory.
Fouls and turnovers helped the United States fight back in the bronze medal game after the Canadians led 7-3 early.
It was the second loss of the tournament to the U.S. for Canada after the Americans knocked down a game-winning two-pointer in overtime on Aug. 2 during round-robin play.
Canada finished the group stage 4-3 after a 3-1 start that included wins over Australia, China and France. Back-to-back overtime losses to Spain and the United States brought the Canadians’ record to 3-3.
A 21-19 win over Azerbaijan wrapped up the group stage on Saturday (Aug. 3) before a play-in game against Australia later in the day. Canada dominated its opponents from down under in the play-in and emerged with a 21-10 victory.
Gaucher's squad led the tournament in points and offensive rebounds. Katherine Plouffe finished tied for second in scoring with 54 points while her sister Michelle finished just behind in fourth with 52 points.
Canada arrived at the Paris Olympic Games five years after Crozon and the Plouffe sisters founded the 3x3 team in 2019.
