USA Run At FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup Ends

DAILY RECAPS

Sept. 21 (Sept. 21 in China)
The USA's run at the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup in Xiong'an, China, came to an end in the quarterfinal round Sunday, as The Netherlands prevailed, 21-14.

Lady Vol senior Zee Spearman paced her team's offensive output once again, accumulating six points in the contest. She hit three one-point buckets, one beyond the arc and another at the free throw line to finish with 32 points in the tournament. That total ranked her ninth through five games out of 80 players competing in the event.

In a physical contest with 16 total fouls called, The Netherlands never trailed and led by as many as 10 with 2:40 to go. A one-pointer by Spearman with 1:58 remaining and a two-pointer with 1:37 on the clock trimmed the gap to five, 19-14, but The Netherlands netted two straight scores to reach 21 and end USA's quest for gold.

Sept. 19 (Sept. 20 in China)
Tennessee's Zee Spearman and her United States teammates split a pair of games on day two of the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup in Xiong'an China, finishing second in Pool B action with a 3-1 mark behind Spain (4-0).

USA advances to the quarterfinal round of bracket play, where it will meet the top team out of Pool D, The Netherlands (4-0), on Sunday. Tip time will be at 1:45 a.m. ET (1:45 p.m. in China) on Sunday. The tournament will conclude on Sunday.

The U.S. women dropped their first game on the second day, 18-12, to Spain. Spearman paced her squad with five points, coming on three one-point buckets and another for two points beyond the arc.

USA fell behind early, 3-0, with a one-pointer and a two-pointer from Spearman pushing her team ahead, 5-4, with 6:54 to go. A bucket by the UT standout drew her squad to within one, 10-9, at the 3:01 mark, but that's as close at the Americans would get the rest of the way.

Spearman and her teammates rallied to win their second match-up, 20-18, over Chile, with the Lady Vol standout hitting seven field goals and three free throws to finish with a team-high 10 points in the narrow victory.

The UT senior lifted her unit into the lead twice during the early going, including 5-4 at the 7:24 mark. In the late going, Spearman scored four straight points, helping USA trim a 12-9 deficit to 13-12 with 3:10 to go. After the U.S. women got over the hump, her scores helped her team build its lead to three twice with 2:18 and 41 seconds on the clock. After Chile cut the gap to one, 19-18, Spearman tallied one more time to close out the scoring and seal the win.

Sept. 17 (Sept. 18 in China)
Spearman and company opened play at the FIBA 3x3 U23 Women's World Cup in Xiong'an, China, notching a pair of victories to stand 2-0 after day one.

Playing late Wednesday night into Thursday morning Eastern Time (Thursday in China), the USA moved past Mexico, 19-11, and Philippines, 21-14, in Pool B action to stand atop the standings with Spain (2-0) in that five-team preliminary division. Pool play continues late Friday into Saturday (Saturday in China) vs. Spain at 10 p.m. ET and concludes on Saturday vs. Chile at 12:30 a.m. ET. The 2025 FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup streams live on YouTube.com/FIBA3x3.

Against Mexico, Spearman registered four points, hitting her team's first bucket of the tournament to start the United States on its way to a 3-0 opening-game run. The 6-foot-4 Lady Vol senior later contributed back-to-back scores at the 3:42 and 2:57 marks of the contest to push her side up, 15-7. Spearman made it a book-end night with 26 seconds left, ending the U.S. scoring with the 19th point of the game. A two-point bucket by Mexico with 11 ticks on the clock closed the gap to 19-11, and that's how it would end.

Later in the day, Spearman tied for high scoring honors with seven points in the triumph over Philippines. She scored four one-point buckets, hit a two-pointer beyond the arc and added a free throw. The UT standout staked USA to 2-0 lead with a game-opening shot beyond the arc and followed it up 15 seconds later to make it 3-1. With the game tight midway through the contest, Spearman gave her squad the lead at 6-5 with 6:54 to go and tied the proceedings at 7-all with 6:11 on the clock. With the outcome in the balance at the 3:29 mark, Spearman sank a free throw to push the United States ahead, 14-12, and then extended the lead to 15-12 on a bucket with 3:06 remaining. USA would pull away from there to win by seven.

PREVIEW
Tennessee senior Zee Spearman will represent the United States at the upcoming FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup in Xiong'an, China, USA Basketball announced on Friday. Pool play continues Friday vs. Spain at 10 p.m. ET and concludes on Sept. 20 vs. Chile at 12:30 a.m. ET.

Spearman, a 6-foot-4 forward from Dacula (duh-CUE-luh), Georgia, will join Taylor Bigby, Kaety L'Amoreaux and Serena Sundell on the USA Basketball 2025 3x3 U23 National Team. That unit will compete in China on Sept. 17-21.

The USA women will open Pool B play on Sept. 17 vs. Mexico at 10:25 p.m. ET, followed by a matchup with Philippines on Sept. 18 at 12:55 a.m. ET. Pool play continues Sept. 19 vs. Spain at 10 p.m. ET and concludes on Sept. 20 vs. Chile at 12:30 a.m. ET.

Following pool play, the top two teams from each of the four five-team pools will move on to the quarterfinals.

The 2025 FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup will stream live on YouTube.com/FIBA3x3.

Over the summer, Spearman played for USA Basketball at the 2025 FIBA 3x3 Nations League Americas Conference July 21-27 in Punta Arenas, Chile, helping her squad claim top honors.

Spearman, Bigby (TCU) and Sundell (formerly of Kansas State) will look to build upon their momentum from 3x3 Nations League play this summer, where they finished first in the Americas Conference. L'Amoreaux will suit up for the USA for the first time following her participation with Fairfield University at 3X Nationals.

Last season at Tennessee, Spearman appeared in all 34 games, starting 23 and averaging career bests of 11.7 ppg. and 6.0 rpg. She shot percentages of 51.5 from the field, 30.0 from three-point range and 71.0 from the charity stripe.

Spearman led UT in rebounds (204), was second in blocks (23) and sixth in three-pointers (24) in 2024-25. Entering her junior campaign with a 1-for-10 history beyond the arc, she hit 24 of 80 attempts in her first year as a Lady Vol. She also paced her team in blocks 14 times and in rebounding 11 times as a junior, tied for second on the team with 23 double-figure scoring efforts and was fourth with 10 games of 15+.

Launched in 2018, the women's FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup pits the best under-23 3x3 talent against one another to fight for a chance at winning gold. The 2025 edition will be the sixth event since its inception. For more information on the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup, click here.

3x3 is played on a half court with a 10-minute clock and a 12-second shot clock. The first team to 21 points, or the team in the lead at the end of regulation, is the winner.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Zee Spearman

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