Hailey Van Lith, Team USA Facing Backlash After Olympic Performance

Team USA's women's 3x3 basketball team won a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and came into Paris with lofty expectations. They won the gold medal at the FINA World Cup in 2023, as well, so the hope was that they would be earning a medal in Paris this year.

However, they have struggled out of the gates and just can't find a way to win a game. They lost the opener against Germany, one in which Hailey Van Lith admitted she was dealing with a cold.

Then they fell to Azerbaijan . To make things worse, they lost to Australia on Thursday, dropping to 0-3 and putting them in a dangerous spot.

With Team USA now 0-3, fans aren't too thrilled about the performance.

Hailey Van Lith, a college star who just transferred from LSU to TCU, while making herself known during her Louisville days, has not played well in Paris thus far.

On Thursday against Australia, Van Lith had just two points on 2-of-6 from the field, and fans expressed their frustration after the loss.

"Hailey Van Lith really the best the USA has to offer for women’s 3V3?," one fan wrote on X after the loss. Another said, "No like with the depth in the WNBA why is Hailey Van Lith part of the USA Olympic team…"

Another one said, "Rhyne Howard finally woke up during this game. Hvl had a bad game but this is still concerning that we are 0-3.."

Some fans made the argument about Caitlin Clark being needed for this team, although she was bypassed for the 5-on-5 squad. "The 5v5 team might not’ve needed Caitlin Clark but the 3v3 team def does."

Another fan questioned why Team USA has been losing: "Is there a reason why we haven't won a single 3x3 game in both men and women? Why are we so bad at a sport we invented. Selection perhaps? Coaching? What is it exactly?"

Rhynte Howard led the way with 8 points and 4 rebounds in the loss, but it wasn't enough. Part of the reason why was the 11 turnovers, as one fan pointed out.

"We had 11 turnovers, We basically gave Australia the win."

Team USA faces Spain on Thursday afternoon, and with just two games left in pool play, their backs are against the wall.

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