Hailey Van Lith Puts Defender In A Blender As She And Cameron Brink Lead Team USA To Break Gold Medal Drought

Hailey Van Lith and Team USA will return home with gold medals around their necks after an impressive run at the 3X3 Basketball World Cup. They won seven of their eight games and capped the tournament with a win over France on Sunday.

Van Lith, who recently transferred from Louisville to LSU, joined Stanford star Cameron Brink, USA Basketball veteran Linnae Harper, and three-time 3X3 World Cup participant Cierra Burdick to round out the four-player roster. They were coached by Connecticut Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti.

Team USA arrived in Austria at the end of May. Van Lith and Brink did not have any experience in the 3X3 game, but it's as simple as it sounds.

Two teams of three, with one sub each, compete in a half-court, 10-minute game. First team to 21 points wins, with each 2-point make counting as one and each 3-point make counting as two. There is no break after scoring, no halftime and no quarters. If the game ends before a team scores 21 points, the team with the highest total at that point wins.

Games are quick, and Team USA got its only loss out of the way early. It dropped its first game to Canada and then never lost again.

Hailey Van Lith and Team USA were dominant.

The win over the French ended an eight-year gold medal drought in the tournament.

Brink was named MVP of the 3X3 World Cup.

She was wreaking havoc down low all week. There was no point in even trying her.

Brink also got hers on the offensive end.

But it was Hailey Van Lith who could not miss.

She was cooking against China.

Her spin move in pool play against Mongolia was the highlight of the entire tournament. It was as cold as ice.

Van Lith was thrilled with her team and their performance after clinching the gold medal.

And then she was so lit.

As was Brink.

With the World Cup win, Team USA is one step closer to qualifying for the 2024 Olympics. It is unclear as to whether the team will stay together for the push to Paris, but Van Lith has to get back to college!