SANTIAGO (Chile) – Teams are letting it fly in the early going at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup in Santiago, Chile. While trying to counteract the Brazilian advantage on the paint, Argentina put up 45 three-pointers on Saturday, shattering the previous record in the competition (39 by Puerto Rico against Dominican Republic in 2021). Argentina only drilled 9 of them (2 apiece from Aimaquen Siciliano, Agostina Burani and Andrea Boquete), but the strategy was clear early on. And the team wasn’t alone, as Brazil shot 8 of 26 from downtown in the win, with Damiris Dantas going 3-for-7 from long distance.
Puerto Rico employed a similar tactic, with 36 attempts— the second-most in AmeriCup history. The Puerto Ricans hit 11 of 36, with Pamela Rosado and Jacqueline Benítez draining 3 each in the narrow win over Colombia. Their opponent took 23 threes, making 8. Canada also found plenty of success from afar against El Salvador, shooting 36.1 percent on 36 three-point attempts. The Canadians had 5 different players with at least 2 makes, led by Delaney Gibb (3-for-7). Sami Hill, Syla Swords, Merissah Russell, and Shayeann Day-Wilson also helped get the count to 13. The pattern was clear throughout the day. Chile hit back-to-back outside shots midway through the first quarter to take a 14-11 lead before the United States roared back in what was eventually a 108-47 blowout. The South Americans wound up taking 30 shots from beyond the arc, hitting 7 for 23.3 percent.
The results, as can be expected, were a mixed bag and by no means the only winning strategy. USA just took 17 three-pointers (at a 41.2 clip) and still won by 51 points. But as the game goes deeper into this pace-and-space era, outside shooting has become both a key weapon and an equalizer of sorts. Expect the trend to continue throughout the event. FIBA