POITIERS, France (June 27, 2026) – A successful showing at the FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series Poitiers Stop for both Canadian women’s 3x3 teams came to a close on Saturday.

With two teams — Ottawa and Canada — competing at the FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series Poitiers Stop this weekend as Canada continues to integrate athletes with 5-on-5 experience into its 3x3 program, they met in an all-Canadian semifinal.

The result was a thrilling 17-16 win for Canada, as Paige Crozon’s game-winning bucket in overtime sent her squad through to the Stop Final, while ending a great run for an Ottawa squad which was competing on the Women’s Series for the first time this season.

Canada, which starred Katherine Plouffe, Merissah Russell and Cassandra Brown alongside Crozon ended up suffering a 20-19 overtime defeat to Australia in the Final. The defeat denied Canada’s hopes of a second win on the Women’s Series circuit in 2026.

Crozon’s 11 points in the Final led Canada, as the Humboldt, Sask. product was 6-10 from the field, including 3-5 from beyond-the-arc.

Two top-four finishes was made possible by Ottawa, who reached the semifinals thanks to a 20-17 win over Egypt in quarter-final action. The squad was composed of Niyah Becker, Jade Belmore, Kacie Bosch and Saicha Grant-Allen.

In the aforementioned back-and-forth all-Canadian semifinal clash, Belmore paced the way for Ottawa with a team-high six points in the game, including a game-tying bucket with 12 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. 

Canada and Ottawa will both stay overseas in France, as they compete at the FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series Marseille Stop beginning on Friday. Fans can watch all games live on CBC Gem and FIBA’s 3x3 YouTube channel.