Here’s what happened when Duke women’s basketball players showed up to a 3x3 tournament

Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson may be away from the team right now, tending to her duties as USA Basketball’s 3X3 Team coach, but her players aren’t taking any breaks. Saturday, they even changed their game to fit their coach’s current assignment, showing up unannounced to a Red Bill 3X Basketball event in Raleigh.

Even better: They won the women’s bracket, earning a trip to the regional round later in the fall.

“Just wanted to put a team together and start building a culture around 3x3 basketball and get it going,” said Duke guard Miela Goodchild, who the event’s MC affectionately called “CDC” because she played with a mask on. “It was fun for us four to get together.”

The “four of us” were Goodchild, Vanessa de Jesus, Nyah Green and Lee Volker.

Red Bull 3X Basketball held its first of 20 nationwide events at the JD Lewis Multipurpose Center in Raleigh on Saturday. The competition serves as an opportunity for women and men to get exposure to play for Team USA 3x3 basketball in future Olympic games. There are also cash prizes for the winners, though college athletes are encouraged to check with their coaches before taking prize money, according to the 3X website.

The Duke team said that they trained a bit last year for the 3X event. Competing in the event allowed them to achieve their goal and get more experience in playing this version of the sport as a team.

“I know for us, we’ve just been wanting to get out here and play and have this opportunity to compete together,” de Jesus said. “It was really great.”

With the qualifying round taking place on Saturday, the team advances to play in a regional round. From there, they have the opportunity to qualify for the national round. Moving forward, adjusting to the style of play that 3x3 offers, the Blue Devils look to build on their performance today.

“We’re going to keep playing fast,” Green said. “Keep playing up-tempo. Just keep looking for each other, keep playing together.”

Each game lasted for eight minutes, but it was a best of five series. The Blue Devils, who entered as “Duke”, won three consecutive games to win the qualifying round. There were eight-minute intermissions between games.

Each team operated under a 12-second shot clock, with the ball being live after made baskets. The game ends automatically if a team reaches 21 points. Shots from the field are worth either one or two points, rather than two or three. Each team had one substitute, as four players were allowed to register. The game rules are the same for women and men in the competition.