PARIS (July 31, 2024)—Las Vegas Aces guard Tiffany Hayes keyed Azerbaijan (1-1) to a 20-17 victory over defending 3×3 Olympic champion USA (0-2) on Wednesday night in Paris, posting game-bests of 11 points, 7 rebounds and 8 of her team’s 11 ‘highlight plays.’
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Azerbaijan never trailed in the opening minutes and was in control 13-10 at 3:47. The U.S. squad fired off 5-straight points before Hayes tied the score at 15-all with 1:43 on the clock, and the European side never again trailed. With the score even at 17-17, Hayes drove to the hoop for the go-ahead bucket with 6 seconds remaining. After a missed 2-pointer by Hailey Van Lith, the USA fouled and sent Azerbaijan to the line for the final 2 points of the game.
Through 2 rounds of the 7-game round-robin preliminary series, Hayes leads all competitors with 10.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.5 defensive rebounds a game, as well as an efficiency value of 28.3.
Azerbaijan continues its quest for an Olympic 3×3 medal with a pair of games on Aug. 1, starting with France (0-2) at 3:30 am PT, followed by Germany (1-1) at 9:30 am PT. All games are being streamed live online by Peacock.
3×3 is played on a half court with a 10-minute game clock and 12-second shot clock. Play is continuous, as teams clear the ball behind the 2-point line following a made basket, defensive rebound or steal. The first team to score 21 points via 1-point field goals, 2-pointers behind the arc or free throws is victorious; or if time expires then the team leading wins. If the game is tied at the end of regulation play, the first team to score 2 points in overtime is the winner.