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Waner Selected To Participate In 2007 USA Basketball Trials
5/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.? Highlighted by eight athletes who won a gold medal at the 2006 FIBA Americas U20 Championship and qualified the U.S. for the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship, 45 of the nation's elite athletes have accepted invitations to the 2007 USA Basketball Women's National Team Trials, slated to be held May 17-20 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. The invitations were issued by the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee, which is chaired by Sue Donohoe, the NCAA's vice president of Division I women's basketball. The Committee is expected to announce finalists for the 2007 USA U21 World Championship Team and the 2007 USA Pan American Games Team on May 20.
The eight returning players from last summer's USA Basketball U20 National Team that qualified the USA for the 2007 U21 Worlds include: Jolene Anderson (Wisconsin / Port Wing, Wis.); DeWanna Bonner (Auburn / Fairfield, Ala.); Essence Carson (Rutgers / Paterson, N.J.); Erlana Larkins (North Carolina / Riviera Beach, Fla.); Marscilla Packer (Ohio State / Pickerington, Ohio); Courtney Paris (Oklahoma / Piedmont, Calif.); Kia Vaughn (Rutgers / Bronx, N.Y.); and Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton (Purdue / Naperville, Ill.).
Also vying to represent the United States this summer at either the FIBA U21 World Championship or Pan American Games are: Jessica Adair (George Washington / Washington, D.C.); Demetress Adams (South Carolina / Bishopville, S.C.); Matee Ajavon (Rutgers / Newark, N.J.); Charel Allen (Notre Dame / Monessen, Pa.); Alex Anderson (Chattanooga / Stone Mountain, Ga.); Marissa Coleman (Maryland / Cheltenham, Md.); Tanae Davis-Cain (Florida State / Dawson, Ga.); Krystal Ellis (Marquette / Racine, Wis.); Emily Fox (Minnesota / Highlands Ranch, Colo.); Mercedes Fox-Griffin (Oregon State / La Jolla, Calif.); A'Quonesia Franklin (Texas A&M / Tyler, Texas); Megan Frazee (Liberty / Xenia, Ohio); Laura Harper (Maryland / Elkins Park, Pa.); Amber Holt (Middle Tennessee / Duluth, Ga.); Alexis Hornbuckle (Tennessee / Charleston, W.Va.); Charde Houston (Connecticut / San Diego, Calif.); Ashley Houts (Georgia / Trenton, Ga.); Tasha Humphrey (Georgia / Gainesville, Ga.); Briann January (Arizona State / Spokane, Wash.); T.J. Jordan (Old Dominion / Portsmouth, Va.); Crystal Kelly (Western Kentucky / Louisville, Ky.); Crystal Langhorne (Maryland / Willingboro, N.J.); Rashanda McCants (North Carolina / Asheville, N.C.); Angel McCoughtry (Louisville / Baltimore, Md.); Nicole Michael (Syracuse / Queens, N.Y.); Britany Miller (Florida State / Tallapoosa, Ga.); Ashley Paris (Oklahoma / Piedmont, Calif.); Allie Quigley (DePaul / Joliet, Ill.); Angel Robinson (Georgia / Marietta, Ga.); Dominic Seals (South Plains / Dallas, Texas); Takia Starks (Texas A&M / Houston, Texas); Mel Thomas (Connecticut / Cincinnati, Ohio); Kirsten Thompson (Arizona State / Monroe, Wash.); Ashley Walker (California / Modesto, Calif.); Abby Waner (Duke / Highlands Ranch, Colo.); Candice Wiggins (Stanford / San Diego, Calif.); and Earnesia Williams (Texas / Sapulpa, Okla.).
Courtney Paris, a member of the 2007-08 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team, as well as January, Thompson and Waner will not attend Trials, and their waivers are under consideration by the Committee.
Franklin, Holt, Hornbuckle, Humphrey and Thomas, who are all over 21, are eligible only for the USA Pan American Games Team.
The USA will look to defend its world title in this age group, open to athletes 21-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1986), at the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship, held this year June 29-July 8 in Moscow, Russia. Duke University (N.C.) head coach Joanne McCallie returns as the USA's head coach after piloting the 2006 USA U20 National Team to a gold medal at the 2006 FIBA Americas U20 Championship. She will be assisted by collegiate head coaches Sam Dixon of Furman University (S.C.), an assistant to McCallie last summer, and Arizona State University's Charli Turner Thorne. The USA U21 finalists, named following the USA Trials, will reconvene in Colorado Springs June 12 to begin training for the tournament, and the eventual 12-member team will be named prior to the squad departing for Europe on June 16. The United States was placed in Group B in the 12-nation tournament along with Australia, Brazil, Hungary, Japan and Spain. Group A includes Belgium, Canada, China, Mali, France and Russia.
The Pan American Games women's basketball tournament will be held July 20-24 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and will feature eight national teams from FIBA Americas. Coaching the USA squad will be Temple University (Pa.) head coach Dawn Staley, a 2007-08 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team assistant coach. Assisting Staley will be collegiate head coaches Kathy Delaney-Smith of Harvard University (Mass.) and Bill Gibbons of College of the Holy Cross (Mass.). The USA Pan Ams finalists named following the USA Trials will reconvene on July 6 in Washington, D.C., and the eventual
12-member squad will be named prior to the team departing for Brazil on July 16.
Jacques Curtis of Shaw University (N.C.), Donnita Drain of Langston University (Okla.) and Narleski Wyrick of Southwestern Christian College (Texas) will serve as court coaches for the 2007 Women's National and Junior National Team Trials.
Trials will feature an opening session on May 17, beginning at 6:30 p.m. (all times MDT); followed by two-a-days May 18-19, with morning sessions tipping-off at 10:00 a.m. and evening sessions at 5:30 p.m.; and an 8:30 a.m. session on May 20. USA Basketball is expected to announce finalists for each team following the morning session on May 20. The 2007 USA U19 National Team Trials will also take place May 17-20 at the USOTC, however, the U19 sessions will take place at different times during the weekend.
In all 23 of the 45 under consideration for a spot on one of the teams have been a member of a past USA Basketball squad. Eight athletes return from the 2006 USA U20 National Team that captured the gold medal in Mexico City, Mexico, including Jolene Anderson, Bonner, Carson, Larkins, Packer, Courtney Paris, Vaughn and Wisdom-Hylton. In 2005 Jolene Anderson, Carson, Coleman, Langhorne, Larkins, Courtney Paris, Waner and Wiggins captured the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship. Prior to the U19 Worlds, that group, along with USA U19 National Team finalist Williams, won the 2005 International Sports Invitational gold medal. In 2004 Carson, Coleman, Harper, Houston, Larkins, Courtney Paris, Robinson, Waner and Wiggins started their age group off on the right foot by sweeping the competition at the 2004 FIBA Americas U18 Championship to collect the gold medal.
Getting their start in a USA Basketball uniform at the 2004 USA Youth Development Festival were Coleman,
McCants, Ashley Paris, Courtney Paris, Robinson, Thompson, Vaughn and Waner; while Ajavon, Carson, Harper, Hornbuckle, Houston, Humphrey, Langhorne, Packer, Thomas, Wiggins and Wisdom-Hylton all competed in the 2003 USA Youth Development Festival.
No fewer than 16 athletes earned 2007 All-America honors, including the lone underclassman on the 2007 Associated Press (A.P.) All-America first team and the A.P. National Player of the Year Courtney Paris. Langhorne, McCoughtry and Wiggins were named 2007 A.P. All-America second team, while Humphrey and Larkins were on the A.P. All-America third team. McCoughtry, Courtney Paris and Wiggins all three were Wade Trophy finalists and were joined on the Kodak/WBCA All-America squad by Langhorne. Earning 2007 Kodak/WBCA All-America honorable mention were Allen, Jolene Anderson, Carson, Humphrey, Kelly, Larkins, Vaughn and Wisdom-Hylton; while Ajavon, Carson, Coleman, Ellis, Franklin, Hornbuckle, Houston, Kelly, Quigley, Walker, Waner and Wisdom-Hylton were 2007 A.P. All-America honorable mentions. Seals, the 2007 State Farm/WBCA Junior College/Community College Player of the Year and a member of the 2007 Kodak/WBCA JC/CC All-America Team, also earned 2007 All-America second team honors from the NJCAA.
Seventeen athletes shone during tournament time. Ajavon and Vaughn were named 2007 All-Final Four; Ajavon was MOP of the Greensboro Regional; Larkins was MOP of the Dallas Regional; and Carson, Courtney Paris, Vaughn and Wisdom-Hylton earned 2007 NCAA All-Region honors. During conference tournaments, Ajavon (Big East Conference), Alex Anderson (Southern Conference), Jordan (Colonial Athletic Association), Courtney Paris (Big 12 Conference) and Wiggins (Pacific-10 Conference) earned conference tournament MVP awards. Joining them on conference all-tournament teams across the nation were: Carson (Big East), Coleman (Atlantic Coast Conference), Ellis (Big East), Frazee (Big South Conference), Holt (Sun Belt Conference), Hornbuckle (Southeastern Conference), Houston (Big East), Langhorne (ACC), Larkins (ACC), Vaughn (Big East), Waner (ACC) and Wisdom-Hylton (Big Ten Conference).
The 45 athletes under consideration for the two USA squads represent 32 schools from 11 NCAA Division I conferences and one junior college. Maryland, Georgia and Rutgers lead the universities with three representatives each. The Big East tops the list of conferences with 10 representatives, while the ACC and SEC are represented by eight and six athletes, respectively.
In all, 35 athletes were honored by their respective conference for their play throughout the 2006-07 season, highlighted by conference Player of the Year honorees Alex Anderson (SoCon), McCoughtry (Big East) and Courtney Paris (Big 12); Holt (Sunbelt) and Houts (SEC) were named Freshman/Newcomer of the Year in their leagues; while Carson (Big East), Courtney Paris (Big 12) and Wisdom-Hylton (Big Ten) collected conference Defensive Player of the Year accolades.
FIBA U21 World Championship
Held for the first time four years ago (2003), when it was known as the FIBA World Championship For Young Women, the USA captured the 2003 gold medal with a 7-1 record in Sibenik, Croatia. In the gold medal contest the U.S. avenged a 73-60 preliminary round loss to Brazil with a dominating 71-55 rout as tournament MVP Seimone Augustus paced the U.S. to the gold with 18 points. Augustus was joined on the five-member 2003 All-FIBA World Championship For Young Women Team by the USA's Alana Beard and Christi Thomas. FIBA changed the names of its age-based World Championships in 2005 to reflect the age athletes must be to be eligible for the event.
Pan American Games
The Pan American Games, held every four years in the year prior to the Olympics and organized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO), is a multi-sport competition open to men and women representing countries from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean.
This summer the Pan American Games will be held July 13-30, with the women's basketball competition slated for July 20-24, in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
Started in 1951 for men and 1955 for women, the Pan American Games are held every four years in the year preceding the Olympics. Only countries from FIBA Americas are eligible to compete. The USA women have won six of 12 gold medals and rolled up a 67-12 record. Competing against national teams from the Americas, the 2003 USA Pan Ams squad featured 12 collegians who banded together to come away with the silver medal.
USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee
In addition to Donohoe, members of the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee include: athlete representatives Beth Cunningham (Virginia Commonwealth University), a member of the 1999 USA Pan American Games Team, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Carla McGhee (WNBA Director of Player Personnel); from the NAIA is Martha Gore-Algernon (University of Mobile); NCAA appointees include Sherri Coale (University of Oklahoma), Jim Foster (Ohio State University), Trina Patterson (University at Albany) and Tara VanDerveer (Stanford University); Mary “Roonie” Scovel (Gulf Coast Community College) represents the NJCAA; and Wendy Larry (Old Dominion University) was appointed to the Committee by the WBCA.
2007 USA Basketball Women's National Team Trials Schedule
Thursday, May 17
6:30-8:15 p.m. Session I
Friday, May 18
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Session II
5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Session III
Saturday, May 19
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Session IV
5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Session V
Sunday, May 20
8:30 - 10:00 a.m. Session VI
TBD Announcement of USA team finalists
NOTE: All USA Trials sessions will be held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center's Sports Center II and are open to credentialed media only. All times listed are MDT.
2007 USA WOMEN'S U21 NATIONAL TEAM & PAN AMERICAN GAMES TEAM TRIALS ROSTER
NAME POS HGT WGT DOB YOG SCHOOOL HOMETOWN
Jessica Adair C/F 6-4 220 12/19/86 2009 George Washington Washington, DC
Demetress Adams C 6-3 175 03/10/87 2009 South Carolina Bishopville, SC
Matee Ajavon G 5-8 150 05/07/86 2008 Rutgers Newark, NJ
Charel Allen G 5-11 134 07/23/86 2008 Notre Dame Monessen, PA
Alex Anderson G/F 6-0 148 02/21/86 2008 Chattanooga Stone Mountain, GA
Jolene Anderson G 5-8 165 07/22/86 2008 Wisconsin Port Wing, WI
DeWanna Bonner G 6-4 136 08/21/87 2009 Auburn Fairfield, AL
Essence Carson G 6-0 155 07/28/86 2008 Rutgers Paterson, NJ
Marissa Coleman G/F 6-1 185 01/04/87 2009 Maryland Cheltenham, MD
Tanae Davis-Cain G 5-10 157 06/07/87 2009 Florida State Dawson, GA
Krystal Ellis G 5-9 150 06/06/87 2009 Marquette Racine, WI
Emily Fox G 5-9 153 04/23/87 2009 Minnesota Highlands Ranch, CO
Mercedes Fox-Griffin G 5-5 140 02/07/87 2009 Oregon State La Jolla, CA
*A'Quonesia Franklin G 5-3 153 09/29/85 2008 Texas A&M Tyler, TX
Megan Frazee G/F 6-3 180 03/29/87 2009 Liberty Xenia, OH
Laura Harper F/C 6-4 180 04/11/86 2008 Maryland Elkins Park, PA
*Amber Holt F 6-0 168 06/07/85 2008 Middle Tennessee Duluth, GA
*Alexis Hornbuckle G 5-11 160 10/16/85 2008 Tennessee Charleston, WV
Charde Houston F 6-0 187 04/10/86 2008 Connecticut San Diego, CA
Ashley Houts G 5-6 144 12/31/87 2010 Georgia Trenton, GA
*Tasha Humphrey F 6-3 205 12/29/85 2008 Georgia Gainesville, GA
#Briann January G 5-8 150 01/11/87 2009 Arizona State Spokane, WA
T.J. Jordan G 5-7 145 03/16/86 2008 Old Dominion Portsmouth, VA
Crystal Kelly F 6-2 194 09/15/86 2008 Western Kentucky Louisville, KY
Crystal Langhorne C/F 6-2 194 10/27/86 2008 Maryland Willingboro, NJ
Erlana Larkins F/C 6-2 205 04/02/86 2008 North Carolina Riviera Beach, FL
Rashanda McCants F 6-1 150 11/17/86 2009 North Carolina Asheville, NC
Angel McCoughtry F 6-1 160 09/10/86 2009 Louisville Baltimore, MD
Nicole Michael G/F 6-2 160 06/26/87 2010 Syracuse Queens, NY
Britany Miller C 6-4 225 08/10/87 2009 Florida State Tallapoosa, GA
Marscilla Packer G 5-9 165 06/01/86 2008 Ohio State Pickerington, OH
Ashley Paris F 6-2 185 09/21/87 2009 Oklahoma Piedmont, CA
#Courtney Paris C 6-3 250 09/21/87 2009 Oklahoma Piedmont, CA
Allie Quigley G 5-11 145 06/20/86 2009 DePaul Joliet, IL
Angel Robinson F 6-5 188 04/20/87 2010 Georgia Marietta, GA
Dominic Seals F 6-2 155 04/17/87 2009 South Plains Dallas, TX
Takia Starks G 5-8 144 01/16/87 2009 Texas A&M Houston, TX
*Mel Thomas G 5-9 160 08/26/85 2008 Connecticut Cincinnati, OH
#Kirsten Thompson C 6-6 109 03/18/87 2009 Arizona State Monroe, WA
Kia Vaughn C 6-4 198 01/24/87 2009 Rutgers Bronx, NY
Ashley Walker F 6-0 185 02/24/87 2009 California Modesto, CA
#Abby Waner G 5-11 155 10/31/86 2009 Duke Highlands Ranch, CO
Candice Wiggins G 5-11 150 02/14/87 2008 Stanford San Diego, CA
Earnesia Williams F 6-0 170 04/26/87 2010 Texas Sapulpa, OK
Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton F 6-2 190 05/26/86 2008 Purdue Naperville, IL
* Eligible for the USA Pan American Games Team only.
# Will not attend trials, waiver considered by the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee.
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