Hailey Van Lith claims Olympic opening ceremony made her sick before Team USA tournament

The Team USA 3x3 women's basketball team fell in its opening Olympic game to Germany, 17-13, in a showdown marred by sloppy offense. Star player Hailey Van Lith has pinned some of the blame on a "cold" she picked up before the contest at the opening ceremony of the Games.

"I think it was from the rain in the opening ceremony," she said to reporters. "So, I think it's a combination of that, but I'll be fine. I played through it in the NCAA tournament, so there's nothing that's going to take me out."

Van Lith led Team USA with six points and helped the Americans storm to a 5-0 early lead. The game was close throughout before the Germans pulled away for the victory. Van Lith is the only college basketball athlete on a generally inexperienced team. She's joined by Cassidie Burdick, Dearica Hamby and Rhyne Howard.

READ MORE: USA women's basketball vs Japan takeaways as foes become friends

READ MORE: Team USA 3x3 'chemistry' concern emerges after 'ugly' Olympic loss

“We’re the most inexperienced team here," Burdick said after the game. "We got a lot of skill, a lot of talent, but that doesn’t win 3x3 games. That’s a prime-time example right there."

Cameron Brink , the No. 2 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks, was supposed to be on Team USA 3x3 before tearing her ACL in June. Brink's absence has been another factor in Team USA's struggles, her interior presence sorely missed.

Van Lith is entering her redshirt senior NCAA season in the fall, having recently transferred to TCU after one campaign at LSU. Before that move, she was a two-time First-team All-ACC selection in two of her three seasons at Louisville. Van Lith's LSU squad was eliminated by Iowa in the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, where she had the unfortunate task of guarding a red-hot Caitlin Clark.

READ MORE: Paige Bueckers issues candid verdict on Team USA women's basketball duo

The newly-minted Horned Frog has already racked up five gold medals, including youth levels, by the age of 22. One of them came at the FIBA 3x3 World Cup gold medal in Austria as recently as 2023. Still, the pressure is on her to deliver again.

One user remarked on X : "If Hailey Van Lith doesn't win the gold medal with USA Basketball, she's going to hit the transfer portal again and sign with Sudan."

Van Lith will have to bounce back from her apparent sickness quickly - the Americans have a busy slate of games this week. Team USA plays on Wednesday, Thursday, twice on Friday, and again on Saturday to complete pool play.

Team USA will face Azerbaijan on Wednesday, who narrowly fell 18-12 in their opening game against Spain. The nation is led by former WNBA All-Star and current Las Vegas Aces guard Tiffany Hayes.