(Submitted photo/Paige Crozon)

By Ben Tompkins

3x3 Women's Series

Paige Crozon continues to come up big for Team Canada

Aug 4, 2023 | 10:04 AM

A northeast basketball player continues to help Team Canada succeed at a high level in the women’s basketball world.

Humboldt native, Paige Crozon has been right alongside her teammates all summer long during the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series.

“I’m a very proud Sask girl, I get back there as much as I can, and am very proud to represent Saskatchewan and represent my family. I was so fortunate to have so many people in Edmonton, as well as in Saskatchewan, supporting me from afar this past weekend. Throughout the course of the season and the course of the year, I definitely receive so many positive and encouraging messages, which I always appreciate,” said Crozon.

The competition, which runs for multiple months, pits countries from all across the world against each other, over 20 times.

At the most recent stop, in Edmonton, Alta, Team Canada entered as the favourites and they did not disappoint.

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“To be able to win at home in Edmonton was such a sweet feeling. We had incredible support from the community and all of our friends and family, so to be able to win in front of the people that care for and support us was definitely a really sweet victory for all of us,” Crozon said.

The Canadians began the tournament with matchups against Poland and Japan, earning their way out of the round-robin stage.

Canada then rolled through Chile in the quarter-finals (thanks to a 10-point performance from Crozon, who went four of eight from behind the arc), before taking down their arch-rivals in Team USA in the semis.

Finally, it was Team China who stood in the way of the hometown girls taking the tournament, which ended in a dramatic 16-14 overtime win for the ones dawning the maple leaf.

“Playing in this Edmonton Stop was probably one of the most thrilling tournaments that we’ve played in,” Crozon added. “Our team has really high expectations, so we want to go into every tournament and be successful and win.”

This women’s series is a professional circuit and also contributes to Canada’s Olympic qualification spot.

The win in their home country marked the second of the season (the first was in Poitiers, France) to go along with two third-place finishes.

“We want to play in as many stops as possible, and the more we play, the better we do, the more points we earn for Canada to try to earn an Olympic berth, so that’s why our team is playing on the tour,” mentioned Crozon.

The FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series now heads to China next as the Yichang stop takes place on August 4-5.

Team Canada will not be participating in that one, as the group is ready for a bit of a break to reset for the final stretch.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8