POWAY NATIVE KELSEY PLUM PART OF GOLD-WINNING WOMEN'S 3X3 BASKETBALL TEAM

By Liz Alper

Photo via Lorie Shaull, CC on Wikipedia

July 29, 2021 (Tokyo) - Team USA's 3x3 women's basketball team won gold on Wednesday against the Russian Olympic Committee, winning 18-15.  Poway native Kelsey Plum tallied five points.

Plum led Team USA throughout the tournament, averaging 6.1 points per game and making 70% of one-point shots, the highest shooting percentage on the team.

3x3 is played a little differently than regular basketball.  Shots in the paint or in front of the arc are only worth one point, while shots from beyond the arc are worth two points.  The winner is the team with the lead at the end of 10 minutes or the first team to 21 points.

Plum plays in the WNBA with the Las Vegas Aces and missed last year's COVID-shortened season due to a torn Achilles tendon.  She is a graduate of La Jolla Country Day, where she led the Torries to the 2012 Division IV CIF State Championship.  At the University of Washington, she set an NCAA record of 3,527 points in her four seasons.