PARIS — In their first game of the 3x3 Women's Basketball pool round of the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Spanish team - with FHU alum Grace Alonso de Armiño - topped Azerbaijan 18-16.

With four available players, 3x3 features three players at a time with just one available substitute. The teams will fight over a single 10-minute period where the team that either scores 21 points first or who is leading at the end of the 10 minutes is victorious. Playing on a half-court, what is traditionally a two-point field goal counts as one point, while a typical 3-pointer counts as two.

Azerbaijan got on the board first, but the Spanish team quickly knotted the same with a one-pointer. At 6:40, Alonso de Armiño grabbed an offensive board before spinning around and bucketing a putback to give the red and gold a 5-3 edge.  Azerbaijan would later take a 7-6 lead at the midway mark, but the former Lady Lion gave her team a lead they would never relinquish after tallying back-to-back buckets to put Spain up 9-7. 

A big assist in the final minute wrapped up Alonso de Armiño's night, with the FHU alumna sharing a team-high five points and grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. Her five offensive boards matched the total offensive rebounding effort from the Azerbaijani squad.

Participating in a single pool, the eight competing countries will play each other one time, with the top two teams receiving a knockout round bye to the semifinals. The next four teams will fight to keep their medal hopes alive in the quarterfinals beginning on August 3.

Alonso de Armiño and Spain next face the host nation France on July 31 at 2:00 p.m. The French squad is coming off of a tough overtime loss to the reigning bronze medalist China team 21-19.