TOKYO, Japan — Team USA's 3x3 women's basketball team scored a major upset in their first game of pool play at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, and a Georgia native had a big hand in making it happen.
The U.S. beat France, the No. 1 ranked 3x3 women's basketball team in the world, 17-10. Allisha Gray, a Sandersvile, Ga. native, chipped in three of the team's points on 2-for-5 shooting with a free throw.
Gray, a Dallas Wings player in the WBA who was the 2012 Georgia Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the Washington County High School Golden Hawks, also had two assists and five rebounds.
With the game at 9-8, the U.S. rattled off five straight points - including one from Gray - that effectively sealed things with about three minutes to go.
Gray was even better in the team's second game on Saturday, in which they cruised past Mongolia 21-9. She led the team in scoring against the Mongolians with nine points, on 4-of-5 two-point shooting (in 3x3 basketball, shots count for one and two points instead of two and three, like in full 5-on-5 basketball).
The Americans outscored Mongolia by a staggering 17 points in Gray's five-and-a-half minutes on court. She also had a pair of rebounds in the contest.
Gray and the U.S. will be back in action for more pool games on Sunday, with contests scheduled against Romania and the Russian Olympic Committee team.
They'll finish pool play on Monday against Italy, China and Japan.