Prairie athletes in Paris: Canada women's 3x3 team also representing Alberta at Olympics

A two-pointer and a quick steal led to the Plouffetwinsconnecting for a lay-up, capturing Canada's victory over China, the No. 1 seed in the Paris Olympics women's 3x3 basketball tournament.

Celine Dion's I'm Alive played in the outdoor arena as Katherine Plouffe, her sister Michelle, Kacie Bosch and Paige Crozon the four who make up Team Canada high-fived and hugged on the court in Paris, before applauding those in the stands as they walked off.

"What an Olympic debut for this team this country in 3x3 basketball," said CBC play-by-play commentator Daniella Ponticelli.

Wednesday marked the country's second Olympic win in women's 3x3 and another step to earning hardware in Paris.

Team Canada entered the 2024 Games ranked No. 1 in the world in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rankings, although they are the fifth seed in the tournament. Three of their players the Plouffe sisters and Crozon were ranked top three in the world; Boschwas ranked 27th.

As the world watches these women represent the red-and-white they are also representing Alberta.

The Plouffes are from Edmonton. Bosch is from Lethbridge and played for the University of Lethbridge women's basketball team. She and Crozon, originally from Humboldt, Sask., are now assistant coaches at the U of L.

People involved in Alberta basketball say the game is booming, but having four women from the province on the world's largest stage in a second stream of basketball could impact a generation of aspiring players.

"We all need a North Star for our path. Those women, right now, in what they're doing in 3x3, create that for the young women and the young players in general," said Dave Drabiuk, executive director of the Alberta Basketball Association.

"For young Albertans to see that you get from here to there it can't help but grow the game. It inspires people."

Chez Paris

On Saturday afternoon, a day after the opening ceremonies, hip-hop bumped through the open-air arena as the team ran plays and put up shots without defence, before playing an exhibition game.

The Plouffes had been there twice before locking in to compete for Canada at the Olympics. In London and Rio, in 2012 and 2016, they suited up with the women's national basketball team.

Every Olympics is different, Katherine Plouffe told CBC News Saturday, noting that athletes must adjust to schedules, and new cities and venues. But in Paris, they're playing 3x3, a different format of basketball albeit one they and their teammates have dominated worldwide for several years.

"It's been just great being here with my teammates and my team, and just having the support of everyone back home who is super excited for us," said Michelle Plouffe.

"To finally be here after some waiting and some adversity in getting here, we're just happy to be here."

Hoopers have played three-on-three since the dawn of basketball, but 3x3 became an Olympic sporting event in 2017. It was first played at the Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canada's team was good enough to go but they didn't.

TheInternational Olympic Committee and FIBAdevised a points system that, ultimately, led tothe men's 3x3 team being ranked higher than the women's team. Acomplex FIBAruleonly allowed Canada to send one teamto the Games.At the time, Canada's five-on-five women's basketball team had made the previous two Olympics, whereas the men's team hadn't made it since 2000.

The men's 3x3 team was sent.

But the women's team regrouped and Canada Basketball, the sport's national body, invested in its 3x3 program. The team also took on former WNBA player Kim Gaucher to coach.

Gaucher, of Surrey, B.C., played in three Olympics, but now she's experiencing the Games for the first time as a coach.

"We're just here really soaking it all in," Gaucher said. "It's so much fun watching Paige and Kacie, as first-time Olympians, experience this."

Growing up in Humboldt, a city of about 6,000 in central Saskatchewan, Paige Crozon dreamed of competing at the Olympics. In Paris, she could finally celebrate that dream coming true with her family, especially her five-year-old daughter, Poppy.

Crozon, a single mother, started playing 3x3 when Poppy was eight months old.

"All families know the sacrifice that it takes from every part of the family in order to get to this moment," she said.

"And Poppy has been such a big part of our journey To have her here, it just feels fitting to have that full circle moment."

Bosch, who described her role on the team as the "blue-collar, runaround Chihuahua" making hustle plays, gushed over her teammates and coach a role model of hers growing up.

"I can't be surrounded by more talented women who have just helped me grow as a person," Bosch said.

Dave Waknuk, head coach of the University of Lethbridge women's basketball team, flew to Paris to watch the 3x3 team compete.

He has been around Kacie Bosch since she was a teenager on the provincial team, and Crozon since she joined his staff several seasons ago. He anticipated a "special moment" to see them on the court, knowing what they have had to persevere to make it to Paris, he said.

"They're a legitimate chance for a medal and perhaps the gold medal," Waknuk said.

Alberta ambassadors

The 3x3 roster being based in the same province, logistically, makes it easier to train together, Crozon said. But the Prairie connection also helped the women gel, because they grew up having similar experiences.

Coaches told CBC News that the team's success could have a ripple effect on local youth, as well as older players whose five-on-five days may be coming to an end.

"It's huge," said Scott Edwards, head coach of the University of Alberta women's basketball Pandas.

Edwards coached the Plouffes when they were teenagers on Team Alberta, he said, calling them "two of the smartest athletes" he ever coached. He also coached against Bosch in U Sports competition.

"They're incredible ambassadors for both their sport and their community," he said.

"They're just incredible women and I hope that the country falls in love with them after this Olympics, and gets to see the kind of people they are, more importantly."

Coaches who spoke with CBC News agreed that basketball in Alberta is in a great place if not the best it has ever been.

Team Alberta's girls' teams are often competing for hardware at the national championships.

Some young women go south to play in the NCAA, such as Yvonne Ejim from Calgary, a standout at Gonzaga University who is in Paris with Canada's five-on-five team. But university rosters in Alberta, many of which are competitive in Western Canada and nationally, are predominantly filled with locals which can be rare.

As women's basketball, including the NCAA and WNBA, get more airtime, coaches expect the game to evolve even further in Alberta.

"They are getting more notoriety from the community, more notoriety from more places way more than when we played," said Robyn Fleckenstein, coach of the Mount Royal University women's basketball team.

Fleckenstein, originally from Nova Scotia, has coached at multiple levels in Alberta for more than 10 years.

"It's changed so much and you have to love that," she said. "It's nice for the kids to be getting excited and engaged in [basketball]."